Love Ever After
by liliofthevaley
Summary: Previously Named: Life After You  - After 2 years away, Henry returns to the Sanctuary, but things - and people - aren't like he expected them to be...
1. Chapter 1

Everything was still the same from when he had left 2 years ago. Same appearance, same smell, even the same eternal feeling of returning home. Henry Foss couldn't help but smile as his worn out hands ran their fingers against the hard granite stones that made up the Sanctuary's outer walls. It was good to be back.

Kate Freelander walked down the halls of the Sanctuary, making her usual path towards Dr. Helen Magnus's office to see the older woman's plans for her. If Kate was lucky she would get a light day and be able to work on her aiming – she had been slacking lately. She thought nothing of it when she saw the door to Magnus's office open and walked right in, stopping to knock on the door-frame as she passed through it.

Magnus was sitting behind her desk, while Will was in front of it, sitting down on its ledge, both were talking to someone sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Kate couldn't see who the person was from her angle, but there was something distinctively familiar about them.

Magnus lifts her head when Kate comes in, her eyes flickering between her and the person sitting in the armchair in front of her desk. Will eyes widen, but he remains silent, bowing his head.

"Kate." Magnus says, her voice cool and collected as always, but there was something about her eyes that leaves Kate uneasy.

"Yeah?" She asks, coming forward into the room. "What's up?"

Magnus's eyes flick between them again before she gives Kate a small smile. "Look who's back."

Kate takes a few more steps, finally being able to see who was the mysterious occupant of the armchair. She feels her eyes widen and her heart drops. Kate takes a deep intake of breath, willing her voice not to falter. She swallows.

"Hey Kate."

"…Henry."

And then she's gone, out the door before anyone could say or do anything. Will lets out a breath as Magnus looks apologetically at Henry's slumped figure in front of her, his eyes closed, hands rubbing over his face.

"I'm sorry Henry." She says.

"Not your fault Doc."

"Yeah, it's yours." Will replies, crossing his arms as Henry closed his eyes.

"Will!" Magnus scolds, turning her head to glare at him.

"S'okay…" Henry sighs. "He's right."

Magnus gives Will another reprimanding look, before getting up from his desk and coming over to Henry. She gave him a quick hug as he stood up to face her.

"It's good to have you back Henry."

"Thanks Doc, it's good to be back." Henry hugs Magnus back, gives Will a short nod and then leaves the room.

She sits down beside Will on the desk, sighing. "That was uncalled for Will."

"It's the truth."

"Still uncalled for…"

"He should know what to expect."

Magnus nodded, realizing the truth behind his words, as much as it pained her to see it. She returned to her desk, going through the days work and then handing Will a medium manila envelope.

"Could you give these to Kate, please? She left before I had the chance."

"Sure." Will says, taking the envelope. "What is it?"

"Some papers she asked me for." Magnus replied as Will flipped through them, his eye-brows raising.

"Magnus, these are-"

"Yes, I know Will." She says, interrupting him.

"You can't be serious about it."

"It's her choice Will. I can't stop her."

"But he's back!" Will protested.

"Yes, and let us hope that counts for something." Magnus answers, giving Will a small nod.

He shakes his head and leaves the office, making his was towards Kate's room, hoping he would find her there. She's not there, but he didn't really think that's where she had gone to hide. Turning around he heads towards Kate's second favourite place in the Sanctuary.

Will heads towards the shooting range and, as predicted, there was Kate, protective gear on and firing round after round of bullets at the paper targets. Will presses a button on the wall behind him, making the red lights lined against the ceiling flash, alerting her to his presence.

Kate stops what she's doing and slowly turns around to see who it is. She relaxes when she sees it's Will and lays the gun down, taking of the protective gear she was wearing. Will makes his way over to her, giving her a small smile.

"Hey." He says, leaning against the booth.

"Hey." Kate replies, staring at him suspiciously.

"Nice shots." Will comments, nodding towards the paper targets – all with perfectly aimed holes straight in the heart.

"What do you want Will?" She asks annoyed, head hanging down.

Will nods, dropping the small talk. "Magnus asked me to give you these." He holding the manila envelope up for her to see.

"Oh, okay." Kate reaches out her hand for it, but Will doesn't move. "Will…"

"Why are you doing this?" He asks.

"Give me the envelope." She demands.

"Answer the question."

"It's none of your business!" Kate replies, moving forward and snatching the envelope from his hands.

"Okay, fine, whatever." Will sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just think about it before you do anything you'll regret."

"Thanks for the tip." She mumbles, pushing past him towards the exit.

"I'm on your side Kate…" He says slowly, turning around to look at her retreating back. His words make her stop and Kate turns her head, looking at him with sorrow-filled eyes.

She gives him a small, yet sincere, small. "Yeah, I know…" She says softly.

Will doesn't miss how weak and tired she sounds as she turns on her heels and leaves the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Henry entered his room solely, surveying it before he actually stepped into it. Everything remained in the same place they had been before he had left. He dropped his bag onto the bed, pleaseantly surprised to find that the sheets had been freshly changed for his arrival.

It really _was_ good to be back.

He let his eyes roam across the room, walking over to one of his bedside tables where a stack of comic books was neatly stacked. He picked one up, flipping through it and setting it down before grabbing another one, as he moved it he saw there was a book hidden under the stack.

Dropping the comic book, he picked up the paper-back, reading its title _"Gone With the Trash" _and taking a deep breath. He remembered when he got that book and couldn't help but sigh as he opened the cover slowly and read the post-it that was still stuck inside of it.

"Just give it a shot, for me. Love ya – K"

Henry closed his eyes, flashbacking to that moment.

_They were sitting down on his bed, Henry working on his tablet as Kate leaned against him reading, one of his arm around her waist, fingers just under her shirt, touching skin. Kate laughed as something in her book, causing him to stop what he was doing and turn to look at her._

"_Haven't you read that like, 7 times already?"_

"_Your point?" She asked, eyes not leaving the pages in front of her._

"_How do you still find it funny?"_

'It's a good book, you should read it."

"_Yeah, no. Something called _'Gone With the Trash'_ is just not my type of reading, thank you very much." Henry said, rolling his eyes at her. _

"_What's the matter Foss, not enough pictures in it for your taste?" Kate smirked, turning her head to grin at him._

"_Ha ha." He said, his hand rising to tickle her sides. Kate chuckled as she batted his hand away; he stopped, but kept his hand where it was._

"_Come on, it's one of my favorite books." She pleaded. _

"_Fine, I'll read it. Can't say no to my favorite girl's favorite book." He whispered, pulling her closer._

She had laughed and called him corny, but had leaned back into him. A few days later she had given him the book with the post-it on the cover, which he had stuck inside for safe keeping.

He had never gotten around to reading it.

Henry kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply as the memory faded. He opened them slowly and flipped through the pages of the book still in his hands, eyes skimming the words. He opened to the first page again and picked up the post-it note, his thumb slowly caressing the small piece of paper.

He went over to his dresser mirror, looking at himself for a while. He looked terrible, he knew that. His face was tired, there were dark bags under his eye and he really had to shave properly. He raised his hand, rubbing at his eyes again, he was tired – not just physically. He stuck the post-it on the top right corner of his mirror, staring at it.

"So Henry, what are you going to do _now_?" He asked himself.

After leaving Will in the target arena, Kate headed towards her room, manila envelope in her hands. Turning the corner, she walked down the hall towards her room, passing through Henry's slightly opened door – it had been closed since he had left. Before she realized it, she had stopped walking and was watching through the crack as he moved around inside. She saw him stop and lift his head, leaving before he turned around and spotted her.

Berating herself, Kate walked quickly into her room, closing the door forcefully behind her and locking it as she collapsed onto her bed. She closed her eyes and raised her hand over her head, hoping to hide from the world for a couple of minutes.

She wanted to hurt him. Kick his ass from here to the moon and after she was done doing that, she would do it all over again. Just for good measure. Who did he think he was? He had no right to suddenly decide to come back. He had given all of that up when he had left the Sanctuary. _When he had left her._

Kate opened her eyes and turned her head towards the manila envelope lying beside her. She reached over and took it, opening and taking out the documents in it. She skimmed her eyes over it, a small smile coming over her face, but her heart wasn't really into it. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? She should have been happy about it. But he had ruined it.

Her cell-phone beeped, distracting Kate from her thoughts. She looked down at it and broke out into a genuine smile for the first time that day. Getting up, she left her room and hurried towards the foyer of the Sanctuary.

In the meantime, Henry had been trying to put his things away – not that he had picked up that many stuff while he was out. He heard Kate's door close, trying to repress the bitterness that that sound meant. For a second her had thought he had seen her outside of his room, from the corner of his eye, but when he turned around she was nowhere to be seen.

Henry heard her door open and close again and the sound of her footsteps rushing down the corridor. Hating himself for doing it, but unable to stop himself, Henry found himself following her, curious to see where she had gone in such a hurry. He didn't know what he expected to obtain from following her, but at that moment, a mere glimpse of her again would make him happy. He had missed her.

He knew she probably hated him for what he had done to her, but he was determined to make it up to her. Somehow. He had to. For their sake. For _his_ sake. He would win her back. Henry knew what would be her reaction to his coming back and he had been ready for it. It was all going to be worth it.

He rounded the corned and entered the foyer, the sound of voices, her voice, pulling him out of his thoughts. He lifted his head to see Kate and Magnus talking to some recently arrived guests, there were 4 of them in total, dressed casual, but he could tell they worked for Magnus.

A fifth figure appeared through the door, dressed casually in a leather jacket and as he continued to watch, Henry felt the wind being knocked out of him. He thought he had prepared himself for everything, but somehow, he hadn't prepared himself for this.

Henry watched almost in slow motion the smile that broke across Kate's face at the man's appearance, who turned to look at her, a smile crossing his own face. Henry saw Kate walk over to the man and felt his heart clench as she threw her arms around his neck, while his own arms snaked themselves around her waist, lifting her up.

And with one trembling breath, he watched in silence as Kate's hands cupped the man's face and pulled him down towards her, their lips meeting as Henry slowly closed his own eyes. One lone tear falling down onto his cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate sighed happily into Declan's kiss. _God, she had missed him. _

"Oy, you two, get a room." One of the men called out to them teasingly. They pulled apart laughing, Kate's arm snaked around Declan's waist as he draped an arm over her shoulder, holding her to him.

"Ha, ha." Kate smirked. "Gotta love the Brit sense of humour."

Robert, the man that had teased them, grinned at her remark. "How you doing Kate?"

"I'm great Rob, better now." She replied, looking up to smile at Declan as he bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks for bringing this one home safe."

"Anytime, couldn't stand his complaining about being away anymore."

"Hey, I'm right here ya know?" Declan protested, throwing his free hand up as if to prove his point, causing everyone to laugh.

"Now gentleman, you must be starving and I've got a table full of food waiting for you. Someone got a little carried away." Magnus said, grinning.

"God bless the Big Guy." Robert exclaimed, taking charge and walking towards the kitchen and dining room area. "Come on mates, let's leave the supreme commander to his lady."

"You're getting cheeky, Cromwell!" Declan shouted after them, as Robert, Magnus and the rest left the room, leaving them alone. Declan turned towards Kate grinning, finally able to talk to her properly.

"Hey you…" She said, grinning up at him.

"Hey yourself love." He answered, pulling her against him again and burying his face in her hair. "I've missed you."

Kate smiled at his words, resting her head against his chest. "I've missed you too…"

"A lad could get used to hearing that." Declan commented, kissing her hair.

Kate smiled softly at his touch, closing her eyes and sighing softly. Maybe it was the silence of the room and her trained ears that picked up on something, or maybe it was just the feeling of being watched, but Kate slowly opened her eyes and looked straight ahead. Since her head was turned she had a perfect view of the other side of the room and her eyes widened at the slumped figure leaning against the door, watching them intently. She could recognize him from anywhere. Kate felt her heart clench.

Henry held her eyes for as long as he could bare, before taking a deep breath and closing them as he slowly turned around and walked away. He knew she had recognized him, he also knew that she had been able to read his face like a book, Kate had always been so good at doing that. He walked numbly back to his room, not knowing what to think, the vision of her eyes looking back at him was etched onto his brain and it didn't seem to want to let go.

He reached his room and closed the door behind him, locking it as he leaned against the wall beside it. The moment played over and over again in his mind as if it was on repeat, her arms around his neck, the smile, the kiss, the hug, all coming back to her eyes. Her eyes and how they stared back at him, revealing nothing of what she was thinking, yet knowing very well everything he was. She could always read him like a book.

Henry felt himself sliding down to the floor, using it for support as he hid his head in his arms, eyes closed, willing everything to disappear. Why hadn't he just left the moment her saw them? Why had he followed her? _Why _had he even returned? He asked himself that over and over again, but in the end it all came down to the same answer, always had, he was there because of her. Always because of her.

His hands came towards his hair, passing them through the strands, trying to soothe himself. It had become more of a habit then anything and most days it worked, because for a few seconds he could imagine it was someone else's finger. He had been an idiot to assume that things wouldn't have changed. Or maybe it had been wishful thinking. Whatever it was had come back to him and he couldn't help, but think that he more then deserved it.

Hours passed and still Henry remained in the same position, thinking, mourning, trying to run away only to know that it wouldn't change anything. His vision would become blurred and he would wipe the tears away, knowing they did nothing to ease his pain. Nothing would. He doubt even time could do something about it. But this was the price he had to pay for his action and he slowly started to accept that.

His priorities shifted, as he looked at the small post-it note staring back at him, almost mockingly. _'Did you really think she would wait forever, Henry?'_ No, not really, but he had hoped. He knew as much as a part of him screamed that he was wrong and being an idiot – again – he wouldn't do anything to break them up. Kate deserved some happiness, even if it was in the arms of something else.

He would accept it, deal with it and learn to live with it, for her. It was always for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Declan felt the moment Kate's body had tensed up, lifting his head, he looked towards the direction she was staring at, but saw nothing.

"What is it, love?"

"Nothing." She replied bitterly, still staring ahead. _That what he had become to her. _

Shaking her head, Kate lifted it and gave Declan a small smile, her right hand coming up to massage his forehead with her thumb; smoothing out the crease there.

"I'm okay."

Declan frowned at her for a few more seconds, studying her face. Deciding to simply let it go, he turned his head, kissing her wrist, his own hand raising to grasp hers.

"If you say so…"

"I do."

"Very well the, what saw we join the others and Magnus in the dinning room? I've personally missed the Big Guy's cooking very much."

Kate grinned, letting him pull her towards the side exit. She looked one last time towards the spot where Henry had been, before walking out of the room with Declan.

Henry didn't know how much time he had stayed in the same position, eventually he gave into his protesting muscles and dragged himself over to his bed, collapsing on it and passing out. The day's exhaustion finally catching up to him.

More time passed, until Henry awoke to someone's finger in his hair, caressing it softly, soothingly. He stirred softly, turning into the hand's heat.

"Kate?" He mumbled, half asleep and eyes still closed.

"Sorry to disappoint…" Magnus whispered back, her fingers never-stopping.

He woke up to the sound of Magnus's voice, opening one bleary eye to stare up at her. It had been years since she had done this to him and while a part of him was reminding himself that he was more then old enough for this type of treatment, the other – bigger – part was grateful for the comfort.

"Hey doc…" He mumbled, blinking sleepy eyes up at her.

"I've brought you something to eat." Magnus replied, as Henry saw the there was a tray on his bedside table.

"Thanks, but I'm not really hungry…"

"You haven't eaten all day Henry." She answered back, always the doctor.

"I know, I just…" He trailed off, eyes staring off into the distance.

Magnus nodded, the hand on his head pulling back to rest on her lap as she stared at him for a while.

"You saw."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement and the onl answer Henry gave her was to stare back at her, the pain clearly written in his eyes. Magnus said nothing in return, the hands on her lap reaching out to grasp his as she looked back at him.

"I'm so sorry my boy."

"I deserve it…" he says, voice barely a whisper.

"Henry, you don't really believe that, do you?" Magnus asked, frowning.

He doesn't answer her, instead turning his head, avoiding her eyes. Magnus stares back at him, biting her lower lip in thought. _Clearly he does._

"Henry, look at me." She waits for him to turn towards her again and when he does, he voice is firm, but gentle. "Whatever it is you think you deserve or don't, _nobody_ deserves to feel pain. No matter how much they screwed up."

At his look of surprise she almost smiles.

"Yes, I am saying that you screwed up. Everyone does at one point or another in life." She did smile then. "But as long as there's a chance to fix it, then you mustn't stop trying."

Henry bowed his head again at her words. "How could I possibly try and fix this? I've lost her, it's over."

"It's over?" Magnus asked, eyebrow raising in surprise. "Where did you pick up that attitude, I certainly taught you better then that."

"Doc, I-"

"You need to talk to her Henry." Magnus replied, interrupting him in a gentle voice. "You owe Kate and yourself at least that much."

"She doesn't wanna talk to me…" He mumbled.

"She might surprise you Henry, Kate changed quite a while why you were gone. And I'm not saying this to make you feel worse." Henry nodded as Magnus continued talking.

"Besides, neither of you can avoid this for much longer. If you're indeed back for good then you and her are going to be working together, you're going to have to talk eventually."

Henry gave her another pained looked and closed his eyes, a hand coming up to massage his temple.

"Go look for her Henry, talk to her."

"But she hates me Doc! And she's with…" His argued again, his voice trailing off.

"That's never stopped you before." She reminded him, God knew she had lost track of the yelling matches between the two of them. _They had the same temper, you couldn't deny that._ But they always made up after, it was just the way things were. Henry couldn't help but nod, knowing that eventually he would have to do what Magnus was asking him.

"It'll be okay…" She tried to reassure him. "You're to good of friends for this to come between you two."

"Right, _friends_…" Henry scoffed.

"You're better then this Henry, I suggest you start acting like it, before you lose Kate's friendship as well…Now do try to eat something."

And with those parting words Magnus gave his hand one more squeeze before getting up and leaving the room. Henry stayed in the same position for a while after Magnus had left, their conversation playing in his mind. He really should talk to Kate, he knew that, but he was scared.

Scared to find out what she really thought of him, scared to see the disgust that could be in her eyes. He wouldn't be able to bear seeing that in her eyes. The again, he didn't think he could bear keeping his distance – no matter how much it might hurt. And maybe Magnus was right, maybe having her friendship was as important – if not more – then having her love.

Henry tried not to cringe at the thought, but he knew that it was something we would simply have to deal with. Things had changed, _they_ had changed. He had lost her, that was a fact.

This time it didn't hurt so much to think about Kate like that. Because this time, he actually had something to fight for. And he damn sure as hell was going to fight for it. Maybe he had lost her as a lover and mate – but he would be damned if he was going to lose her as a friend too.

Henry needed Kate in his life.


	5. Chapter 5

Kate awoke with a start and couldn't recognize her surroundings. Lifting her head up and waiting for her eyes to adjust in the dark, she remembered that she was in one of the guest rooms, currently occupied by Declan. Or better yet, currently supposed to be occupied by him, but sweeping her eyes around the room Kate realized Declan was nowhere to be found. She squinted at the clock and saw that it was a little after 3 in the morning and wondered where on earth Declan could have possibly gone at this time of night.

Considering that he was probably still jet-lagged, or something, Kate sat up in bed and considered her options. She could go back to sleep or she could go looking for him. She ended up going with the second option, making a mental note to stop by the kitchen on her search for the Brit, her stomach rumbling its approval. Kate hadn't really been able to eat much at dinner, despite Declan's attempt to have her try a bit of everything. Her stomach simply hadn't been in the mood for food and she knew the reason behind it.

_Henry._

Kate hadn't really allowed herself time to think about what had happened in the foyer, let alone what he had actually seen. While a part of her felt it was only within her rights to be with someone else, another part couldn't help but feel guilty over how he had found out about them. She hadn't really intended to hurt him. Which was ironic, all things considered, especially after everything he had made her go trough. But the truth was that despite everything, even after trying and trying, she couldn't bare to hate him.

It was just the way they were.

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear those thoughts, Kate got up and grabbed one of Declan plaid shirts, slipping it over her thin tank-top as a jacket. She slowly made her way down the Sanctuary halls towards the kitchen, now that some time had passed, the idea of eating something was starting to sound more and more pleasant. Making a left turn, the sound of her footsteps padded by the carpet, Kate silently made her way towards the kitchen. She didn't think twice before walking right in.

Kate didn't know who was more surprised – and also a little scared – between the two of them. The awkward silence stretched out between them the more they stayed frozen in their spots. Her, with one foot on the kitchen tile, her right hand holding the door open. Him, leaning against the kitchen counter, cereal bowl in hand, spoon stopped in mid-motion. She didn't know how long they stayed that way, her grey eyes locked onto his blue ones, it could have almost been a game, had any of them actually been having fun.

The sound of metal hitting the floor broke them out of their shock-like state and Kate blinked, her eyes spotting the spoon, previous in his hands, on the floor. She considered her movements for a few seconds, wondering if it wouldn't just be wiser to go back to Declans room.

"Don't go."

His voice surprised her and Kate whipped her head up from the spoon on the floor to his eyes again. Henry stared back at her almost apologetic as he awkwardly bent down to grab the spoon from its spot.

"I er, I was just leaving." He says, in a way of explanation, turning his back to her and walking over to one of the sinks.

Kate bites her lower lip, it's a habit that's become almost second nature to her whenever there's something on her mind. She sighs, stepping more fully into the room and cautiously walking over to lean on the kitchen island.

"You were here first." She says, head bent down, not meeting his eyes as Henry doesn't say anything, his back still towards her. Almost as an afterthought she adds. "I don't mind."

Kate looks up in time to see him tense up and then, more slowly, relax to her words. She can see his confusion at what to do almost as much as she can sense it herself. No one ever taught you what to do in awkward situations like this. Having apparently made up his mind, Henry turns around slowly to stare at her, nodding his head.

'_No, this wasn't awkward at all.'_

Not knowing what to do exactly to break the tense moment that is clearly between them, Kate slowly drums her fingers on the counter-top, before her rumbling stomach reminds her of why she was in the kitchen in the first place.

"Hungry?" He asks softly, it's a stupid question, like talking about the weather, but she accepts it for what it is.

"Er, yeah. I didn't really have dinner." She answers, eyes looking anywhere but at him.

"Yeah, me neither. Figured I better eat something before Magnus got all Mother-hen on me…"

She nods and then there's that awful silence again. Kate figured you could probably cut the tension with a knife and use it as a flotation device, that's how big it was. Deciding to ignore Henry for the next few seconds, she makes her way over to one of the cabinets, digging through it in search of something appetizing. She can hear Henry pouring out more cereal into his bowl on her left and she can't help but turn her head sideways a bit to stare at him.

Henry's playing with the cereal as they drop into the bowl, randomly popping a few into his mouth as he does so. He turns his head and catches her staring at him and usually Kate would have averted her eyes or turned her head, but she stays immobile, staring back. It's Henry the one that breaks first and he bows his head, picking up a cereal and turning it around in his hand.

"Do you want some?" He asks, picking up the cereal box and offering it to her.

Kate stares at the box, it's Cocoa Puffs, one of her favorites. One of _his_ favorites, actually. Henry was the one that had gotten her hooked on them, but she hadn't eaten them for quite a while, now that she thought about it. If she were honest with herself, Kate would know that the reason behind that was because it brought back to many memories. But there was nothing to remember anymore.

_Or so she kept telling herself._

She nodded, accepting the cereal box and grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, pouring herself some. Kate couldn't help but steal one of the flakes and popping it in her mouth, eyes closing as the yummy cocoa sugarness melted in her mouth. She opened her eyes to find Henry staring at her, a spoon in his hand, extended towards her. There was something in his eyes that she just couldn't make out exactly, but it was gone almost as quick as it had come.

"Thanks."

Henry nods and moves towards the kitchen island, sitting down on one of the stools there. "There's milk in the fridge and cinnamon in the top left cupboard."

The moment the words had left his mouth Kate felt them both tense up again. Henry looked up at her almost apologetic as she tried not to let what he had said affect her so much.

'_So he remembered.'_

Usually Kate was traditional in her way of eating cereal, it was milk and a bit of sugar, depending on the grain chosen. But she had a special weakness for mixing cinnamon in this particular one, there was just something about the taste of it with the cocoa that was the perfect match. Henry had never really understood her favoritism for the spice, saying it messed up the taste of the cocoa itself and how that was the whole point of the cereal. Kate hadn't shared this weird trait of hers with anyone else.

Biting her lip again, Kate made her way over to the fridge and pulled out the milk carton, while heading over and grabbing the cinnamon. She mixed everything up and then contemplated where to sit. The tension from his words had faded a little, but there was still the somewhat awkward silence between them. She decided to take the lead, someone had to.

Making her way over to the other side of the kitchen island, Kate sat down on an opposite stool from Henry's and they both continued eating in silence. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him steal a glance towards her every few minutes. One time it almost looked as if he was going to say something, but then changed his mind at the last minute, head bowing down towards his cereal again.

"Are you back for good?" She asks, eyes on her cereal bowl. Her not so subtle question make Henry choke on a piece of cereal and he coughs a couple of times before catching his breath. "...You okay?"

"Er, yeah, yeah…" He replied, clearing his throat. "I er, yeah, I'm back for good…"

Kate nods and she can feel his eyes on her. "…Good."

"…Good?" He asks, eyebrow raising in surprise.

"Well yeah, we were one tech support down without you." She says, casually, looking up to stare at him. "That and I'm pretty sure Magnus is a lot more relieved now that you're under her eyes again."

"Tech support…Right." She can see the moment her words affect him, a flash of regret, bitterness and pain mix up in his eyes, but then it's gone.

Kate nods, bringing her spoon up towards her mouth and eating the cereal. It's his turn to stare at her, eyes narrowed, as if trying to figure her out.

"Well, it's good to be back." He says, voice also casual and for someone who used to be able to read him like a book, Kate can't make out his expression. "No good cereal where I was."

"And where was that?" She asks, raising her eyebrow in challenge.

His eyes lower for a brief moment, before they rise to meet her again. "Around. Lots of places, didn't exactly stand still for very long." His face is still masked, but there's something in his eyes that keeps calling her attention. It's almost like an apology.

Henry bows his head again as they stay in silence for a few more minutes, finishing up their midnight snacks. There's still some awkwardness between them, but some of it is gone and she can't help, but breath a small sigh of relief. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as she had thought.

Kate finishes her 'meal' and gets up to put it in the sink, rinsing it out and laying it out to dry. She turns around and is surprised to find out that Henry had moved without her noticing, standing behind her clutching his bowl of cereal almost pathetically. At her jump his eyes widen and he takes a step back, away from her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Not scared, just…surprised." Kate says, pushing her hair back from her face. "I didn't hear you get up."

"Oh…Right." Henry says, not really knowing what to say. "Sorry again."

She nods as he steps around her and quickly rinses his bowl out. Kate stands there for a few seconds looking at her hands, not really knowing what to do. She supposes it's time she actually went looking for Declan, but at the moment she's not in the mood anymore and figures it's best to just go to sleep.

"I'm er, I'm gonna go to sleep now." She explains, as she moves slowly towards the kitchen door.

"Yeah, me too." Henry says, as he starts to follow her.

They reach the door and she takes a left, turning around to wish him a good night. She's biting her lower lip and trying not to twist her hands as he looks back at her.

"Weren't you going to sleep?" He asks, eyebrow raised.

"I am." Kate replies, her head bowed down, suddenly she doesn't know why this became so awkward again. "I'm er, going the other direction…"

Henry stares as her in confusion for a few seconds and she can see him about to ask her 'Why' when it dawns on him. _Right_. And then she sees it again, the flash of something in his eyes as he slowly nods.

"Well, goodnight then..." He says, giving her a small nod before turning right and making his way down the corridor towards his room.

"Night..." She says to his back, trying not to feel guilty about what had just happened. He knew, he knew she was with Declan, he must have expected her not to sleep in her own room...Right? Kate didn't know what to think and she stared up again to see his retreating figure until he was gone.

She sighs and makes her way over to Declans room again, entering it quietly and seeing that he was back. Kate slowly got into bed, careful not to wake him as she snuggled closer to his body.

"Where were you?" Declan mumbled, half-asleep, his arm going around her waist and pulling her to him.

"Kitchen. Midnight snack." Kate replied, closing her eyes and trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"Find anything good?" He asked.

"...I'm not sure." She replies, knowing her answer makes no sense to him.

Kate feels Declan fall back asleep as she closes her own eyes, knowing sleep was going to be hard to come by tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

Henry met up with Will at the shrink's office. After what had happened that night in the kitchen with Kate he had spent the whole next month thinking about it. It had been a terribly awkward moment for both of them, but still they had continued with it. That had to mean something…right?

From then on they had somewhat tiptoed around each other and their run-in in the kitchen. When they had team meetings in Magnus's offices they talked, even managed to joke around a bit, but always in others company. Henry couldn't say that things had gotten better between them, but things were less awkward, if at all. It helped when Declan left back to the UK Sanctuary, Henry didn't have to hold his breath every time they were in the same room anymore.

Yet sometimes when it was just the two of them, when they occasionally met in some random spot in the Sanctuary, he could almost swear that there was something there. Almost. Or was that wishful thinking? They still hadn't talked about what had happened, and he wondered if they were ever going to get around to doing it.

Henry couldn't make up his mind on the subject - he finally decided he needed new perspective. That's where Will came in. Knocking softly on the door-frame, Henry stuck his head inside, smiling at him.

"Hey man…"

"Henry, hey, come in." Will said, gesturing for him to take a seat. "Is everything okay?"

"Er yeah, yeah, everything's fine." Henry started, before stopping his sentence and trailing off. "I mean…"

Will gave him an understanding nod and went around to sit on the leather chair beside him. "Kate." Like Magnus, it wasn't a question, it was statement.

Henry gave Will a small smile. "That obvious, eh?"

"Only to someone who knows you very well," Will smiled back. "And I'm a psychiatrist, that's kinda what Magnus keeps me around for."

Henry laughed, nodding. "There is that."

Will smiled again and rubbed his hands together. "So, what do you need from me?"

His question was asked gently, he knew how much of a sore subject this was for Henry and he was happy that the other man was even willing to talk about it. Henry sighed, one finger stroking the armrest he was leaning on.

"I need you to tell me what happened after I left."

"Are you going to tell her why you left?"

Henry was surprised by the unexpected question. "Does it matter?"

"It always matters Henry." Will pointed out, before taking a deep breath. "It was hard. Magnus was the only one who knew where you had gone and why. The Big Guy said you had your reasons and whatnot, but it was still tough - especially for Kate."

Will flicked his eyes to where Henry sat, head bowed down, eyes staring at his finger's movement. Will continued. "I don't know what happened between you two before that, why you fought, why she didn't know beforehand, I just know that at first she ignored it; pretended that everything was fine and that you were going to come back. You never did and she well…" He trailed off.

"She what?" Henry asked. As much as every word Will was telling him was like a new cut, he had to know how much pain he had caused her. That was the only way he could start feeling better about it.

"She broke down Henry. The Kate we knew was only a shell. She still acted the same, a bit at least, but when you looked into her eyes, they were just…hollow."

Henry was pretty sure he had never felt as much anger and hatred for anyone as he felt for himself in that moment. He had broken her. Will let him process everything in silence and he could see the angst and the self-loathing in Henry's eyes. While a part of him felt sorry for Henry, the other more selfish part was sorta glad he was in this turmoil.

Will himself took a while to come clean with what had happened, Henry was supposed to be his friend after all, not to mention his protective streak had stepped in on Kate's behalf. It had taken a lot of talks with Magnus trying to explain to him why Henry had done what he had, before Will accepted it. He still didn't agree with the way Henry had gone along with his actions, but he understood why he had done it.

"And Declan?" Henry asked softly, his voice breaking Will's train of thought.

"Declan was…a God-send." Will answered honestly, as Henry's eyes snapped up to meet his "I know it's not what you want to hear Henry, but he managed to help Kate when we had all almost lost hope."

"Okay…" Henry managed to croak out, head bowed down again.

"I don't know how it started really, but he got her to smile and eventually even make her laugh. He's good to her." Will said.

"Yeah, I er, I saw." Henry replied, a bitter smile on his own face.

He was currently ignoring the knife thrusting into his stomach. If Declan made Kate happy, after the way he, Henry, had left her, then he wouldn't dare go against it. Will nodded, rubbing his hands again. They stayed in silence for a few more seconds, Henry absorbing everything he had told him, while Will stared at him.

"You're good to her too." Will suddenly said, making Henry whip his head up in shock.

"What?"

"You heard me Henry. You were good to here to." Will gave him a sad smile. "Maybe even great,"

Henry stared back in silence. He didn't understand what Will was telling him. "But you just said-"

"I know what I said." Will interrupted him.

"I don't understand."

Will sighed. "Look Henry, I'll be the first to tell it to your face that you screwed up. Big. Possibly the worst way you'll screw up in your life when it concerns someone you care about. But I also know for a fact that you two just worked. You made each other better, you were great. And you just don't throw something like that away."

"What are you saying Will?" Henry asked, his voice suddenly somber.

"I'm asking you what you plan on doing now." Will answered.

"In regards to what?"

"In regards to Kate,"

"Nothing," Henry answered back, in shock.

"Why?" Will asked calmly.

"What do you mean, why?" Henry asked back, trying to keep his voice from rising. Had Will lost his mind?

"Why aren't you going to do anything to get her back?" Will asked again, his voice always calm.

"Are you serious?" Henry asked, looking at Will as if he'd just grown another head. When Will didn't answer and kept staring at him with those freaky eyes of his, Henry took a deep breath, one of his hands coming up to rub his eyes. "She's with Declan."

"She loves you."

Henry shook his head, no, he wasn't going to do this, he wasn't going to step in and mess up her life again. Not this time.

"You know as much as I do that you still want her." Will began.

"Of course I still want her." Henry interrupted him. "I never stopped wanting her. But that doesn't give me the right."

"Yes it does." Will argued back.

"No It doesn't Will! If Declan wasn't in the picture then maybe in the future, when she could actually stare at me in the face without hating every singly cell in my body, then maybe we still had a chance. But now…" He trailed off.

"For the record, she doesn't hate you." But Henry just shrugged it off. "Forget Declan, do something now or you're going to lose her forever."

"Wake up Will, I already lost her." Henry answered back. "And why the hell do you care so much anyway?"

"She's going to London, Henry!" Will blurted out.

"She's…what?" Henry asked, his voice suddenly nothing more then a whisper.

Will sighed, this wasn't the way he had wanted Henry to find out, but hopefully this would change things. "She asked to be transferred to the UK Sanctuary…Magnus signed the papers yesterday."

Henry had slumped down onto his seat again, his hands threading trough his hair as he tried to process everything. No, she couldn't leave, if she left it would break him, he knew it. He also realized the irony between what he was saying, considering he was the one that had left first.

"When?" He managed to ask.

"I don't know." Will answered truthfully. "I, I'm sorry Henry. But I wouldn't be telling you this if I thought you could do something about it."

"What could I possibly do Will?" Henry asked hoarsely.

"I've seen the way she changed the moment you came back. Yeah she's avoiding you when possible, yeah some things are still awkward, and she doesn't want to talk about it, but…Her eyes Henry. There was a gleam to them that had been missing."

"That's so cliché man." Henry said, giving Will a grin as he shook his head, trying not to let Will's words get to him.

"Cliché is my specialty." Will grinned back. "Look, I'm not doing this to torture you Henry, I'm the first one to give you the 'you hurt her again I'll hurt you' speech. But you can fix this - more importantly this needs to be fixed."

Henry sighed, rubbing his eyes. Damn it Will, why did you have to go and put these things into my head?'

"Have you talked yet?" Will asked.

"Sorta." Henry shrugged. "We bumped into each in the kitchen and in the hallways. Awkward was an understatement. But I think we're somewhat okay."

"Did you talk?"

"Ish. I guess, I dunno man, it's complicated. Every time I look at her I feel guilty and think she has every right not to look at my face anymore. Then there are moments when I act before I think and something from our past together just gets blurted out. I just don't know what to do…"

Will patted Henry on the shoulder. "You'll figure it out, Ace."

Henry nodded, lost in his thoughts for a while. "Do you think she'd ever take me back?" He asked, and Will saw the pain in his eyes again.

"Gotta try, right?"

"…Gotta try." Henry repeated, giving him a small smile.

Henry left Will's office in a daze, there was just so many things he couldn't wrap his head around, especially Will's conviction that he could actually make a difference in Kate's decision to transfer. Henry wasn't naïve. He knew one of the reasons she was even going there was because of Declan, to be with him. He hadn't thought things were that serious between them.

Then again, he hadn't thought many things were possible, and he had grown up in the Sanctuary, what did that say about him? He shook his head, pushed the elevator button, waiting for it arrive. Should he even try anything? If he thought for a second there was a chance, then maybe.

Was Will right? Was there still something there between them? Or was he simply trying to see what wasn't there? But then again, this wasn't something out of this own head, this had come from Will, and if there was something that Will was, it was perspective.

The elevator chimed and Henry walked into it, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize the person in front of him until he bumped into her. Kate. Talk about clichés.

"Woah. Watch where you're going there, Hank," Kate replied instinctively, before she realized what she had done.

Hank. She had called him Hank. She hadn't called him Hank since forever. She shouldn't have called him Hank. She was mad at him - she should want to punch him. But still, it had slipped out of her lips just like his cinnamon comment. Maybe there was something to Will's ramblings.

"Sorry about that." Henry gave her a soft smile, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "My mind was far."

"Planning to run away again, are you?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

'Ouch.' Henry thought, but he kinda had it coming. "Are you going to miss me if I do?" He asked.

Kate whipped her head up in shock, as if not believing that he had actually had the nerves to say that to her. "Excuse me?"

He should have backed down, he really should have, slumped back into his position of avoidance and trying not to draw to much attention to himself. That's how it works. Not anymore.

"No, not planning on leaving." He said, shrugging. "Just have some things on my mind - some people too." If she had caught his double-meaning she tried not to let it show.

"I'm going to go now." Kate said, giving him a strange look, mostly as if he'd lost his mind. She passed by him and walked down the hall, turning her head to give him another glance. Henry didn't try to stop her as she walked away from him, he kept looking at her and caught her eye when she turned.

Yeah, there was something there.


	7. Chapter 7

Love Ever After Pt. 7

Will's words were still fresh on Henry's mind the following days. So much, that by the end of the week Henry had come to the conclusion that he would have to suck up his fears and talk to Kate about what had happened between them. It was time she knew.

Actually finding her inside the Sanctuary proved to be quite a task, the ex-con artist knew how to hide when she wanted to. And it seemed that whenever Henry was around, all she did was hide. Had this been 2 years ago, Henry would have been able to find her without a doubt, knowing where she liked to go, but now he didn't even know where to begin. Deciding on taking the easy way out, Henry opted on asking the Big Guy instead.

"Hey, have you seen Kate?"

Biggie turned to look at him with narrow eyes, while he had also forgiven Henry for what he had done and, more importantly, was one of the few that knew what had happened, he was still rather protective of Kate. He had to see her get over him…He was still waiting.

"Hrpmh…Why?"

"I kinda wanna talk to her." Henry replied, as Biggie gave him a warning growl. "I'm not going to hurt her, I just…We need this." He sighed.

"If she's hiding she's probably at her 2nd favourite place in the Sanctuary." Biggie answered.

"Oh, okay!" Henry said, turning to leave before he stopped to think. "…Where's that exactly?"

"Fire range."

"Oh! Right, right."

"Aren't you going to ask what her 1st favourite place is?" Biggie questioned, as Henry made to turn around and walk away.

"Er, her room?" Henry guessed, turning to face the Big Guy again, hands in his pockets.

"Your lab." Biggie replied, as he walked past a momentarily shocked Henry. "That's where she spent more of her time while you were gone."

Henry just stared open-mouthed and speechless back at him, his mind not really knowing what to do with the new information. Biggie made his way over to where Henry was and head-slapped him before walking out the door.

"Don't mess this up." He grunted, before leaving. "Again."

Henry's hand went up to sooth the back of his head as she slowly thought out what the Big Guy had said. Her favourite place. His /I lab. The notion tore at his chest more then it should have, but also, in a good way, it made the bottom of his stomach turn.

Pushing these thoughts aside, knowing they would do him no good in what was already going to be a more then delicate conversation, he walked towards the nearest elevator. Henry considered the intelligence behind his decision to talk to Kate while she was in possession of a firearm. He gulped. Maybe it was better not to think about that.

Like the Big Guy had said, he did find her in the shooting range, oblivious to the world as she fired round after round of perfect shots. Kate's aim couldn't improve any more even if she wanted it to. Henry watched her as she handled the gun with precision, her movements smooth and natural. You almost couldn't tell where the gun ended and Kate began, it was, to put it simply, beautiful. As everything else about her in Henry's eyes.

Like most times when Henry was near her, Kate could feel his watchful gaze on her. Her grip tightened every so slightly on the 9mm currently in her hand, it was enough for her perfect aim to be thrown off. The shot directed at the target's heart hit his shoulder instead, Henry, from his spot leaning against the wall, raised an eyebrow.

Kate slowly sighed and lowered her gun, resting it on top of the table in front of her as she took off the protective goggle and eventually the ear-muffs. She turned her head sideways, not quite looking at him, more profile then anything,

"Henry." She said and he couldn't help but notice that this was the first time since he'd gotten back that she actually acknowledged his name.

She'd called him Henry before, but during staff meetings and during some missions in which more often then not she was forced to acknowledge his presence. And then there was that one time she had called him 'Hank'; he didn't know if that one counted.

"Kate." He answered back.

"Does Magnus need something?" She asked, turning her head again so that her back was to him once more.

"Er, no, no…" Henry replied, taking a small step in her direction, his nervous hands stuffed into his pants pockets. "But I do."

Kate turned her head again, slowly, her face unreadable, but he could see through the mask into her eyes. She was trying to decide between snapping at him, laughing her head off or just giving him a terribly depressing gaze. Some nerves, thinking he had any rights to need Ianything/I from her. But in the end she didn't do anything and Henry took that as a good sign as she waited in silence, hoping he'd make it about work, use the easy way out. Not this time.

"We should talk." He said softly, his perceptive eyes taking in the way her hand clutched around the counter edge.

She knew it was coming, they both did, it was only a matter of who would break down first. Kate had expected him to last at least another month.

"There's nothing to-"

"Kate." He interrupted her, taking another step into the room, closer to her. "We Ineed/I this, please?" He's begging, his eyes asking her to give in. Just this once.

She doesn't answer, can't answer, her arms go around her body as she turns sideways, leaning against the plastic wall beside her. It's as close a yes as he's going to hear and for that Henry's grateful.

"I'm sorry."

He'll probably spend his whole life asking for her forgiveness, in some sense, it's the least he can do. Kate's indifferent to his reply and all he wants is for her to acknowledge him. Hit him, yell at him, point the gun her fingers are itching to touch, at him. Anything other then this passive shell.

"Why?"

It's barely more then a whisper, but Henry catches it nonetheless. Why are you apologizing? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you leave? Why didn't you come back sooner? Why did you come back at all? And the one he knows he'll never truly be able to answer; IWhy did you break my heart? /I

So many unasked questions in that one word and for a moment Henry doesn't know if he can get through this. If he could ever get through this, the pain that she's clearly been trying to keep away, locked in some recess of her mind, he sees all of it come back in that one single word. And he despises himself for it.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" It's nowhere near the answer she's waiting for, but it's all he can give her at the moment.

Kate nods, knowing that this wasn't a conversation they wanted to have in a fire range. She still hadn't said anything else and she still wouldn't meet his eyes, but she walks over to him and remains by his side as they head towards the Sanctuary grounds. The distance between them physically isn't even that far, but they had never been so distance since they've met. It hurts them both the same.

Henry was right, they needed this. The past had to be buried.

They walked around for a few minutes, always in silence, Kate's arms are still wrapped around her stomach, but she could breath a bit more. Fresh air was good like that. She catches him throwing glances at her, every now and then, trying to figure out which way would be easier to start. Kate almost laughs at that. IWhich wound do you want to pick at first Henry?/I

"I'm sorry." He repeats, looking at her, as her gaze remains fixed forward. "I can't apologize enough and I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to. I really am sorry Kate."

She nods, not saying anything or turning to look at him. Kate doesn't want his apology, she wants answers. She had forgiven him before he even knew it.

"The way I left, it was wrong, and while I don't regret leaving exactly, I will always regret not telling you about the reason behind it. Or taking you with me."

Kate turns to look at him then and Henry takes that as a sign to continue. "You've probably guessed this by now, but I didn't simply run away to any particular place. I went to Europe. To the HAP facility there, remember?"

Kate nodded, yeah, she remembered that place, back when Henry and Will had gone for the first time. She also remembered what had happened there and her jaw went straight as she bit down on her teeth. She remembered who was there too.

"They killed her Kate." Henry said, having known exactly what went through her mind at the mention of Europe. IErica./I Kate turned to stare at him again, her eyes wide and her expression rather shocked.

"Her aunt called me, I don't know how she got my number, but she did. Told me what happened, said she needed my help. This was an inside job. She didn't know what to do. I had to do something about it."

Henry continued on his explanation, telling her everything that had happened once he left, what he had done for the past 2 years and why he had eventually come back. Kate remained mostly silent during his explanation, asking a question here or there to clear up a fact or another, but mostly she listened to him talk.

"Eventually we found out that there wasn't much to be done anymore. Not there. We still hadn't found out who was behind it. We had half a dozen more leads then we had at the start and we were losing to many people. I had us stop." Henry sighed, he was still plagued by what had happened and how useless he had been about it.

"Couldn't Magnus have done anything about it?" Kate asked, leaning against a tree they had arrived at, near the outer walls of the Sanctuary.

"I tried, but we were living in the wild, more as Wolf then humans really. Lilian insisted that we shouldn't call attention to ourselves, that's what had gotten Erica killed in the first place. There really wasn't anything the Sanctuary could do without risking death to more innocent people. I wouldn't have that."

"You still could have called." Kate muttered, bowing her head as her hair hid her face from his.

This whole moment Henry had explained where he was, what he was doing. Some questions were answered, but there were still so many that she still needed to know about.

"No, I couldn't." Henry replied, giving her a soft smile.

Kate lifted her head up to stare at him accusingly. "Of course you could-"

"If I had called, Kate, if I had heard your voice? I would have wanted to be back here in a second, beside you, Iwith/I you… So I didn't call, didn't write and tried not to think…I kinda failed at that last one." Henry confessed, lowering his own head as his kicked a small rock.

"That's one of the reasons I didn't tell you. I couldn't do that to you, knowing you would have come after me had I let you or not." Kate opened her mouth to protest, but again, he interrupted her. "I know you Freelander, you can't stand by seeing injustice happen. It's part of your charm."

Kate lowered her head again, not really knowing what to say, but nodding. He was right, she would have probably gone after him, even if it were to kick his ass for having left her.

"You could have tried explaining it Henry."

"I could. But I was stupid, an idiot, an asshole if you will, I thought this was the better way. Because if you knew, I'd want you with me, but if something happened to you because you weren't a HAP…"

Henry trailed off for a few seconds before looking up at her again, this time she met his eyes.

"I could live, can live, with you despising me Kate. But not with you gone."

His confession had her stomach turning and Kate had to turn her head to try and hide the fact that her eyes were tearing up. She was kinda surprised at how long she had managed to hold them off. Henry stared as a tear fell down her face, feeling his fingers itch to wipe it away. He hated when she cried. He hated even more when he was the cause of it.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, feeling his own eyes tear up.

Kate nodded again, wiping at her tears, trying not to let her weaker side show, something that was incredibly hard to do when the only person who she had ever allowed to see her break down was the cause of it. She wrapped her arms around herself again, letting the tears fall.

Henry couldn't stand it anymore, his fists were clenched and his eyes closed. It was her heartfelt sigh that ended up breaking up his resolve. Before he knew it, he was reaching towards her face, wiping the tears away with his thumb before pulling her into his arms. He held her protectively as Kate didn't even try to struggle, letting him pull her into his embrace, one of his hands coming up to stroke her hair.

"I'm sorry." Henry whispered again, knowing that this changed nothing between them. It was still to late.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **I KNOW I FAIL AT LIFE. But there were finals and papers to write that didn't involve the Heroes, but now it's Christmas Holidays and I swear I'll have this thing done and finished with by _Monday_. If I don't, feel free to tell Santa to leave me a bunch of coals instead of presents, yes?

* * *

Kate let him wrap his arms around her, more worried about trying to contain her tears then the fact that he was holding her. And he held her in such a way that made her heart clench even more. Why did he have to leave her?

She pulled back, the tears still spilling down her face. His hands were still holding onto her shoulders and she hit him. Over and over again. Her weak slaps leaving a dull sound against the material of his jacket. She hit his chest, his shoulder, the tears coming freely now and he let her, he let her hit him. It didn't last long and Kate found herself holding onto him in desperation.

Henry hugged her to him again, letting her bury her face in his neck. Breathing deeply as he hid his own face into her dark hair. They held on. To this moment, to each other, to what had happened.

Eventually Kate's breathing went back to normal, and Henry's tears stopped falling, but they still held onto each other. She hit him one last time on his shoulder and he couldn't help but smile against her hair.

"Feeling better?" He asked softly.

Kate chuckled bitterly. "No." She mumbled against his neck, but she nodded soon afterwards and Henry tightened his hold on her.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, knowing that by this time he probably sounded like a broken record player. She didn't answer him, just buried her face further against her skin.

"I know… I know."

It was almost a whisper but he caught it nonetheless. Henry placed a soft kiss to the top of her head, his grip around her had loosened, but he still held on. One hand caressed her back soothingly as he felt Kate slowly breath in and out, heartbeat returning to normal.

He had missed her. He had missed her so much that it hurt everything within him to have her in his arms again. But at the same time, he know that he would always hold her if she needed him too. As long as she needed him to.

The sun began to set behind them and that's when Henry realized just how long they had actually been outside. Kate must have noticed it too, because she slowly pulled back, her eyes blinking to adjust to the low light. She looked up at him then and Henry brought up one of his hands to wipe away the tears that still hadn't dried off her face.

"You know what hurt the most?" She asked softly, blinking away the fresh tears that wanted to fall. When Henry shook his head, she raised one of her hands to caress his face softly. "I didn't know if you were even alive."

Henry covered the hand on his face with his own, squeezing it softly. He closed his eyes, bowing his head slowly. Kate forced him to look up again, to have his blue eyes stare back at her grey ones. He did, seeing her pain and seeing his own reflected back at him.

"I could handle loosing you, eventually, and I did. But I could never _lose_ you Henry." Henry closed his eyes again as she moved her head forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

He entwined their fingers against his face, squeezing them softly as Kate rested her head against his chest.

"Thank you for coming back."

With those simple words Henry found a sudden weight being lifted off of him, knowing that this had been the only thing missing since he got back. They were finally okay.

He had no unrealistic belief that this had erased everything between them and that they would pick off where they had left off. No, that was gone, that was their past. But they had managed to put their friendship back together. And Henry was more then grateful for that fact alone.

It was fully dark around them before they finally moved, one last hug being exchanged between them. He walked Kate to her room, bending down to brush a soft kiss against her cheek to whichshe smiled, squeezing his hand before wishing him a goodnight and closing the door.

* * *

Days past and the change between them is noticeable by everyone in the Sanctuary. There aren't any more awkward silences or tense moments and everything is the way it should be. The way it had been in the beginning. They come to him one by one, Magnus, Will, the Big Guy.

Magnus doesn't say much, just hugs him to her and says she's glad things are better. She doesn't ask for details, but lets it known that she would always be there to listen to him if he wanted her too. For which Henry is grateful, because despite everything 'solved' between them, things aren't normal again. At least not to him.

Will's the only one who notices it. Picks up on the looks Henry holds a beat longer then he should have. It was the shrink that had picked up on what was happening between them in the first place. But Henry doesn't want to talk about it and for the first time since he's known him, Will doesn't make him. Maybe he gets it too. Having to stare at someone day after day and know that you'll always want that little bit more that you can't have.

Biggie is probably the one that understands him the most. He doesn't say anything, maybe a 'Harumph' here and there, but it's mostly knowing looks that he receives from him. If they've mentioned anything to Kate, Henry doesn't know about it.

They talk eventually, never spending to much time alone. It still hurts. No matter how many words were exchanged and made up. He's down his fair share of staring, but he's caught her doing it back, once or twice. Henry never backs down when he's caught doing it, choosing instead to hold her grey eyes to his. Kate always bows down when she's caught.

And he doesn't know what that means. If that even means anything.

It's been almost a month since their talk and Declan's finally back at the Old Sanctuary. Kate's there to meet him, but Henry chooses instead to greet the Brit later on. They're friendship is saved, but it still hurts. It will always hurt seeing her with someone else. But albeit all that he still likes the Brit very much and the two man even get together sometimes to talk at night. Declan tried to bring up Kate only once, but the quick flash in Henry's eyes wasn't missed by the Head of the house and he lets it go.

For which Henry's thankful.

He was good for her. Henry couldn't deny that and that somehow made things better and worse at the same time. Better because she had someone to take care of her. Worse because he couldn't bring himself to get her back, to take her away from the good things Declan gave her. No matter how much Henry thought Kate belonged with him.

* * *

It's after they get back from a late-night meal at an Italian Restaurant that Kate's always liked that Declan realizes that something has indeed changed. He can't say he's surprised. She had been silent most of the night and while her smile was sincere there was something that seemed to be missing from her eyes. That usual spark. Again, Declan can't say he's surprised, but what does surprise him, is how much it actually gets to him.

She's looking out the window of the car, lost in thought and Declan drifts back to how they had started their relationship. She had been curled up in the library, at the far end, almost unknown unless you looked for it. Little had she known that had been his favourite place to go to think too. They met a few times there, usually at un-natural times of the night until it eventually had moved forward from there.

It had started with a drink really, the first time she'd actually told him about Henry.

They'd exchanged stories before and had become close friends in a short amount of time. This time there may have just been what they needed. She shared her sad tale and he shared his and together they shared a bottle of wine. Her head had fallen onto his shoulder and he had pushed back her hair, looking down onto her gray eyes. She really did have eyes that pulled you in.

Kate had been the one to lean forward and press her lips against his, pulling back not long after that, apologizing. Declan had been the one that leaned after her, capturing her lips with his and making her troubles disappear, both their troubles. At least for the time being. It had gone from there. He had done it the correct way, taking her out in the proper British gentleman way. They were both reserved and broken, but together they seemed to fix each other. He was as good to her as she had been to him.

They make it back to his room and Kate's still distant. Declan slowly pulls her with him to the bed, sitting down on it and making her sit beside him. He takes one of her hands and holds onto it, him thumb brushing softly over her palm.

"Talk to me love." He asks, gentle and soothing.

Kate doesn't have to say anything other then look up at him for Declan to know exactly what's she's thinking about. Their time had come. In all honestly, he had been expecting it since the start, that had been their deal. A whispered confession they had shared laying in each other's arms after a night of love. It wasn't sex between them, there was feelings, and there would always be feelings. But feelings didn't make love.

They've both been clear since the start, maybe her a little more then him, but the facts were there. Declan knew what he was getting into. He just didn't think he would have gotten pulled in as deep as he had.

He leaned against the headboard and held Kate close to him, her head resting on his chest as he stroked her hair. Much like he had done in the library so many days ago. They had built a relationship in that time. It hadn't been a lie, no, Declan didn't think that. He could have seen himself loving her for the rest of his life and he knows Kate really thought she could too.

"Declan…" Kate starts, her breath catching, because she doesn't know how to do this. Not when he's holding her and soothing her and he's so understanding. She doesn't want to hurt him, it's the last thing she wants to do.

He shushes her, not blaming her. He knows what it's like, what this type of love is, what it can do to someone. He's felt it long away, and in a way still felt it. There had never been any 'usage' between them, but Declan knew they had both raised each other from a deep dark hole. She was facing the music. Maybe it was time he faced it too.

"I love you." Kate whispered against his chest. "I will always love you."

"And I, you." Declan whispered back.

They both knew the truth. They both loved each other very much. But they weren't _in_ love with each other. That type of love had already been claimed but people who weren't each other.

They fell asleep in each other's arms one last time, over the covers, still dressed in their outfits from their night out. When the sun began streaming in through the window Declan woke up to Kate's soft kiss to his cheek. He brought a hand up to caress her face, she had such a beautiful face.

"We were good love." Declan whispered, smiling softly at her.

Kate returned his smile, her hand coming to rest over the one cupping her face. "The best."

He pulled her to him, giving her a soft kiss. It was their goodbye. She squeezed his hand back and smiled one last time. Kate slowly got up and made her way to the door, turning to look at him one more time before leaving the room.

"Take care Miss Freelander."

"You too Brit-Boy."

Her smile is sincere and so is his when the door finally closes behind her.

* * *

He knows something's changed when he catches her staring at him, without backing down. He tries to read into her expression but she turns her head, paying attention to what Magnus was saying again. Something Henry tries to make himself do too.

His cell-phone rings and had it been any other name he would have probably ignored it.

_'Lillian Calling'_

Henry's eyes meet Magnus' over her desk and she knows something's wrong when he stands up to take the call. He listens in silence mostly, asking one or two question. When Henry finally ends the call he meets Kate's eyes first, then Magnus'.

"I have to go." He doesn't offer any more explanation and there really isn't the need.

Magnus's asks him if he needs help and again, Henry refuses. He was going to let anyone else get hurt in this battle of his. These were his people, he wasn't going to have more blood spilt. Not this time. Kate's after him the moment he leaves the office.

"Let me help you." She asks.

But Henry only shakes his head. "Not this time Kate."

"You didn't let me help you the last time either!" She responds, exasperated.

Henry stops walking and turns to face her. "No. You're not getting involved in this, I won't let you."

"You can't-"

"Please, Kate!" He shouts back, almost desperately. It's his tone of voice that has Kate convinced how much he really means it. "I, please, just…Don't."

Kate nods and for that he's grateful. She's not making it harder. The way she's looking at him isn't making it easier either, but he pushes that out of his mind. He can't worry about Kate now, he has to solve this, some way, some how. For Erica. For himself. In a way Henry needs to finish this to know that he hadn't lost the best thing about his life for a useless cause.

He's in the elevator when she finally stops following him. Henry gives her a small smile and she returns it, though grudgingly. He knows she's never been one to stay inside and let others have the fun of the chase. But if something happened to her…. No, it wasn't an option.

"Don't look so disappointed Freelander, I swear it's not a fun as you think it would be." He makes it be about the chase rather them himself. It's never about himself, it's always about something else when Kate's concerned. "Besides, Declan would probably kill me himself if you got hurt."

She stares back at him in thought and Henry takes that as a sign to leave. Her eyes tell him to be careful and he nods, giving her a small smile. He waves as the elevator doors slowly close and that's when he hears her.

"We broke up."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes: **OKAY, SO HERE'S THE THING. Remember when I said that if I didn't have this finished by Monday Santa could give me coal? Well, know what Santa did give me? One nasty cold on Sunday and Monday. Which basically left me dead to the world and ergo, not capable of any writing. **BUT I'M SORTA MAKING UP FOR IT.** This isn't the last chapter, there's only **ONE** more to go and I swear, swear, swear on the Heroes life that that one will be posted by Wednesday! Okay? Okay.

* * *

**Love Ever After - Pt. 9**

He wants to open the elevator door and run after her, asking her to repeat what she had just said. To confirm it.

_'We broke up'_

The words echo in his head and everything around him has become nothing but a dull silence. They broke up. Kate and Declan. They broke up. She was free. Henry tried to keep the beating of his heart down, but priorities had suddenly shifted and he didn't know what to make of this.

The ding of the elevator's doors opening broke him out of his reprieve and Henry had to use all of his willpower to not push the button back up again. She must have known what that revelation would mean to him, hadn't she? There was a reason she said it. There _had_ to have been a reason she said it.

Come home safely.

That was the reason. And Henry swore to himself that before, before he was leaving a part of himself here but now he was going to do everything to come back to it. _Because they broke up. _And that meant he had another chance. And he was a damned bastard, an idiot that didn't deserve any chances at all. But he had one.

* * *

It took longer then he thought it was going to take. Tracking down the suspect proved to be easier in theory, but they kept at it. Day and night and night and day. Until the days of the weeks became a blur and notions of returning to the Sanctuary successful became farther away. Henry was going to return to the Sanctuary anyway, there was no doubt about it. But he wanted this so badly, wanted to bring an end to this wild goose chase that had been going on for far to long.

It was during their 5th consecutive week living as wolves that some news actually came. Henry had gotten used to staying more in HAP shape then in human, it was easier not to think of home like this. He was concentrated on the chase. The smell was weak, and faraway, they had picked up on it early on.

But the attack came out of nowhere.

They weren't expecting much, but having their enemy come to them certainly wasn't one of their plans. And yet it happened. They were quick and noisy and Henry hadn't been this scared in a long time. But he fought back. They had a plan and they fought back with everything they had.

The hunters weren't ordinary werewolf hunters, their prizes were based on who their catch was as a human, more then as abnormals. Being killed was the least of their problems. These hunters were looking for more, for entertainment, for a prize that wasn't normally seen.

The lycan black market was so underground you didn't even know about it, no matter how hard you searched. But it was there. And it was harsh. While in human form, they served as practically slaves and while in wolf form, they were drugged and put against one another as if nothing more then mindless animals. It was even worse for the woman. Luckily for Erica she had managed to avoid that. Death had never been so peaceful.

It was thoughts like these that raced through Henry's mind as he fought, for himself for the others around him and to bring an end to all of this. They didn't seek to kill these men, no, only hurt, maim them maybe, the point was to seek information out of them later on. Victory was becoming theirs and Henry could see, finally, an end to everything that had been going on. But that wasn't to say their side hadn't lost people either.

When the sun was barely rising, the silence surrounding the clearing was defining. Around them, bodies laid splayed along the grounds, humans and lycans united in death. Those that had been kept prisoners – for lack of a better word – were slowly being tied down one by one as the HAPs changed back into humans. Henry was the last among them, looking around, willing his amber eyes to see against the darkness of the dawn around them.

It was over. He could go home.

Finally allowing himself to drift with his thoughts, Henry didn't sense the threat until he was right behind him. By then it was too late. He heard his wolf cry out in pain as the world went black around him. His last thought drifting to how this couldn't be happening. Not now. Not now that it was finally over and he had another chance. He wanted so much to have another chance.

* * *

Kate raced down the hallways as fast as her feet would carry her, practically flying down the steps. She needed to see for herself, to believe it. She skidded down the corridor, making a sharp right and opening the door not as gently as she probably should have. She'd deal with that later, for now she just needed to see it. See him.

Her heart was still beating wildly in her chest, but she'd managed to calm down her breathing a bit, taking slow steps as she made the rest of the way into the cold, white room. She'd never liked this room. It was cold and white and smelt funny and always, always meant that something hadn't gone right.

Kate made herself take a deep breath, knowing her presence had been noticed from the moment she had not so silently opened the door. But she didn't meet anyone's eyes, no matter how hard Magnus tried too. She even avoided Biggie's questioning gaze, who had become an expert way to easily on reading her.

She was right beside his bed and Will made room for her, gesturing to the plastic chair which she ignores. Her eyes are on Henry's face and she slowly reaches out to grab his hand as she entwines their fingers. Her grey eyes trace his figures slowly, there's a deep gash a little over his eyebrow, and the skin near his jaw is purple, mostly likely a punch. She knows there are stitches near his forehead, hidden by his hair and he's thin, thinner then what she remembered.

Kate strokes his hand with the pad of her thumb, letting the warmth from his hand soothe her more then he would ever know. He's beaten, he's bruised, he looks like he went to hell and back again… But he's okay. And he's back. He's okay and he's back and Kate never thought she'd like being inside the infirmary so much, but there it was.

The chair is pushed to her once more and this time Kate sits, her hand unmoving from his, her eyes taking in the rest of his condition. He's going to have a hell of a headache when he wakes up. Because he's going to wake up. She doesn't care that he suffered from a concussion or that he was lucky. He's going to wake up or she'd kill him herself.

She wasn't above that.

The others had left and it dawned on her that she should have noticed it a lot earlier. It also flashes through her mind that her reaction spoke more then she could ever try to say. But this was Henry and this was her. This would never not be her reaction. And she realizes that, in that quiet moment, alone in the infirmary with her thumb ever-caressing his hand. They always knew, always expected it.

Minutes, hours, pass in a blur and she's unmoving by his side. Kate doesn't know what this means. It should be obvious and apparently it is to everyone around her, but not her. She doesn't know if she's willing to go down that road again. It hurt to much the first time around. Forgiveness is easy, but it's not as easy to forget. And she remembers it clearly. The hurt, the pain, the lost.

She remembers the lost more then anything else.

Not losing him, no, that came with the pain and the hurt. But she remembers what it was like to feel that lost. For someone who had always been so sure of her path, her way, being lost, it scared her. More then it should. More then she admitted it. Because that's not how she worked. But she had let him take away her certainty and let life surprise her.

And well, it sure as hell had surprised her.

Henry stirred and Kate was pulled away from her thoughts. When he showed signs of waking up she let go of his hand, missing the contact. The touch between them was more about her then him. Her way of knowing that he really was okay… Well maybe not okay, but certainly alive. She got up and went to call on Magnus, alerting her to his presence in the 'real-world' again.

She was by his side when Magnus arrived, closely followed by Will and Biggie. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the harsh light as Magnus tried to soothe him with words. The hand she had previously been holding clenched emptily around thin air, making her feel guilty for letting go. Holding onto him when he was awake was admitting to more then Kate could at the moment.

His vision was fuzzy as he tried to key in on what was going on, what had happened. Everything hurt, but at the same time there was a numb feeling coursing through his body. And by smell alone he knew where he was – even if he didn't know what had happened. Finally able to focus his eyes, they searched for the one face he'd been dreaming about seeing. To convince himself that he was still here, still alive.

Convince himself that he still had his chance.

Blue met grey in the dance they seemed so good at and he felt himself relax when she smiled back at him. No matter how brief it was. Kate didn't stay long and maybe it was for the best. He really wasn't able to follow what Magnus was trying to tell him with her there. And while there were other more pressing things in his mind, he had to know what had happened.

_Lucky was an understatement._

Then again, like most things in his life, Henry realized that there was more to his luck then he deserved. A stray hunter, who had managed to conceal himself in the woods during the fight, had shot him down. And it was the most unlikely of people to save his ass. None other then Declan himself, having kept an eye on any suspicious activities happening near the UK. It had been more like a hunch then anything else, but Henry knew he owed his life to the Brit. In more ways then one.

A part of him kinda felt guilty.

The hunter that attacked Henry had been shot down and taken into questioning along with the others. Henry had been rushed to the infirmary and luckily there weren't any major traumas. He had gotten a really bad concussion which had Magnus worried the first days, along with cuts and bruises along his body. If he had been human at the time the wounds would most certainly been fatal, but as a lycan his body had more protection. Henry guessed he owed his wolf a thank you.

* * *

The days went by slowly, being confined to the infirmary had never been his favourite pastime. Then again, he doubted anyone actually enjoyed being strapped to a bed with disinfectant washing over their senses. He really did hate that awful smell. But the visits did make everything better. Except the one person he wanted to visit him, had yet to do so.

"Look what I have!" Will's voice brought him out of his reprieve and for a second Henry was tempted to ask if it was Kate.

"Tell me it's something Magnus told me I'm not allowed to eat and you'll be my best friend."

Will chuckled and shook his head. "I'm already your best friend and no, sadly it isn't. You forget I'm a doctor too."

"You're a shrink."

"Still get to be called Doctor." Will laughed, sitting down on the plastic chair that had taken residence beside Henry's bed and handing him the small stack of comics he had brought along.

"Does that work with girls you date?" Henry asked, chuckling.

"Sometimes."

Henry smiled at him and shook his head, eagerly taking in the new comics. He had been bored out of his mind.

"Speaking of girls…" Will started, letting the sentence hang loose in the air.

"Nothing to speak of." Henry replied, knowing exactly where the shrink was going to go with this conversation.

He let Henry flip through the comic book in his hands, watching him take in the pictures before the geek got fed up with Will's observant eyes and met his stare.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing." Will said, holding up his hands and grabbing a comic book himself.

Henry waited a beat before sighing. "….Just say it."

"Okay, so are you going to do anything?" The shrink really shouldn't have this much enthusiasm over something that didn't even concern him.

"Dude, you need to get a life."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"You sound like a girl."

"Are we avoiding the question Henry?"

"No, the answer to your question is still; nothing." Henry interrupted him before Will could speak again. "For starters, I'm tied to a bed, Magnus doesn't let me leave this place even if I'm feeling 100% fine."

"Yeah, she's kinda annoying when you almost die." Will joked, having had his fair share of Magnus' evil infirmary glare.

"And second…" Henry's voice trailed off again as he stared glumly at the door. "She hasn't been to see me."

"Oh." Will's eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh?" Henry asked, curious.

"I just, I find it interesting that she hasn't been to see you, but she didn't leave your side when you were unconscious."

"Oh." It was Henry's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Maybe she just wanted to make sure I was alive. Not have that sort of guilt or whatever."

"Maybe." Will repeated, but he knew as much as Henry did that they both didn't buy it.

They stayed in silence, for which Henry was grateful. Maybe Will had finally picked up on how much of a non-talking subject this was for him. Or maybe Will had just stopped trying to push on something that wasn't there.

Either way, Henry chose not to think about it. It was better this way.

* * *

It was dark, and probably very, very late, but Henry had spent so much time cooped up inside that he'd lost the notion of time properly. He was supposed to be dozing off, but he had a headache, the first one in a while and he was torn between calling Magnus or just sucking it up. It wasn't even that it hurt that much, she had just warned him to call her if he felt anything. But a part of Henry knew that if he were to say anything, that could mean more time inside.

And they could call him a kid for all he cared, but he really didn't want to spend more time in there then he had too.

It's when he hears it, soft footsteps coming towards his door and he wonders for a second if he should feign sleep. It was probably the Doc coming to check on him, or even Biggie. He knows who he wants it to be, it's always the same person. But after it not happening so many times, Henry had just given up on Kate every coming to visit him. Which tears at his heart more then it should, really.

But this time somethings different and he almost has to sniff the air twice to be certain. Sweet, yet spicy, of flowers and something herbal and a distinctive something had he has never been able to name, but recognizes it the moment he had first smelt it.

"You're supposed to be asleep." Her voice carries easily to his ears, even if a whisper. She knows him well enough to know when his HAP ears pick up on stuff.

"So are you." He answers, because it's somewhat the truth and he doesn't know what to say. "Biggie have you keeping tabs on me?"

"Not this time." Is her response. She knows he's upset about her lack of visiting and while she wants to, Kate just can't seem to find a good enough excuse for him.

"Ah…" Her lips can't help but curl into a soft smile as she slowly makes her way towards him.

"Do you mind?" She knows he doesn't, but she asks anyway.

Henry indicates towards the chair and sits up against the bed, bringing his pillow more comfortably behind him. "Never."

Kate waits for that awkward moment between them to come and when it doesn't, she's not really sure what it means. He senses it too, because he's suddenly staring at her, expectantly and she doesn't know what to do. Things aren't awkward anymore, but that doesn't mean that they're easier.

"How you feeling?"

"I'm actually feeling fine." Henry answers, this time meaning it, not like the million times he's repeated it to Magnus on the previous days.

"How's the headache?" She asks and it should surprise him how she knows, but this is Kate, and this is him and she's always been able to read him so crystal clear.

"I actually think it's just a headache and nothing more serious." He answers, giving her a smile. "No need to be telling the Doc on me."

Kate rolls her eyes at his antics, but there's a whisper of a smile on her face. "Trust me Hank, I wouldn't wish this place on anyone."

She'd called him Hank and they've both noticed. This time it wasn't by accident. But he doesn't call her on it, not this time, and nor the next time she does it. Truth is, he's missed hearing it from her lips almost as much as she'd missed saying it.

They sit in silence, but it's comfortable and it's comforting and they haven't felt it in much to long. It's that moment that he realizes that they're finally back to being friends. No strings attached, no complicated feelings, just friends. And as strange as it seems, he's very much okay with that.

"You should rest." Kate says, watching him watching her.

"Ditto."

"I don't have a concussion and various bruises around my body." She points out, grinning as Henry tries not to pout.

"Yeah well, wanna switch?" He jokes. "Great Jello."

"That sounds like a really sweet deal Foss, but somehow, I'm not inclined."

"You're not _inclined_?" He raises an eyebrow at her vocabulary.

"Nope." Her chuckle is contagious and Henry finds his headache disappearing. As cliché as that might seem.

Kate eyes drift towards his bedside table, it's her turn to raise an eyebrow as she slowly picks up the paperback rested against it. _Gone With the Trash_. Their eyes meet over the book and Henry just shrugs, giving her a small smile.

"Figured it was more then enough time."

She nods, running a hand over the worn out cover. "And?" There's a hint of a challenge in her voice.

"And it's good." She raises her eyebrow and he rolls his eyes, nodding again. "And it's really, really good."

"Took ya long enough to admit it." He wished she didn't sound so smug.

"Well, what can I say, guy's gotta hold onto something."

Kate stares at him in thought, turning her head a bit as her fingers drum over the cover. "Yeah, I guess he does."

Her eyes, locked on his, say a lot more then they should. There's a moment of silence before Kate smiles at him again, putting the book back on the bedside table.

"Goodnight Hank."

"Night Kay."

She turns her head at that, wanting to say something and a part of him dares her too.

It had started as a joke between them, him mocking her on the way she signed her texts and notes. Just the first letter of her name, as if writing the other three were to much of a hassle. She'd ignore him on most days, but the truth was that it was sweet and special and it was theirs.

Which is why she didn't say anything, just smiled as she left.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** FINALLY. I KNOW. After I swore on the Heroes life and everything. FAIL ME. But it was the Holidays and the sucked me in more then I thought possible and so, here it is. I think (I hope) I made up for it with the 7,000 words. Man, never have I written this much in one chapter. OH, and the smut. Dear Lord, we shall not get into that. My first EVER attempt at smut, so yeah...

* * *

It takes way to long for Henry's liking, but eventually Magnus releases him. Exactly 3 days after Kate had come to visit him at night. She hadn't done it again since then, but she did pop up to congratulate him on his freedom. He was ordered to take care and to report to her as soon as he felt any form of dizzy spell or lost of conscious. Henry gladly agreed and before the words had even left Magnus' lips he was out of that infirmary.

The first thing he did was take a bath. God, he had missed being able to shower properly. Not that he hadn't in the infirmary, but it was totally different being able to do so in his own room. After that he spent most of the day outside, lounging around the lake, in the shadows of a tree. It was terribly cliché, but he had missed nature far to long.

After what had happened between them in the infirmary, Henry wasn't really sure what to do. He still wanted her, he would always want her. And she still cared, that was a given. But that didn't mean that there was any future for them left.

Kate had avoided him up until that point, not on purpose, but just because there was no real reason outside of work for them to interact. He couldn't remember the last time she had popped by his lab just to say hi. Then again, that was also lost in the past. Back when his presence made her eyes sparkle and filled his heart with stupid cheer happiness that he had that effect on her.

Now every time she looked at him, he saw a glimpse of sadness.

He didn't think that would ever leave.

It was late at night when he finally went back into his own room, throwing his jacket onto his bed and spotting the book that had kept him company during the endless hours of boredom. He wouldn't admit it to Kate, but he had really enjoyed it, even going back and re-reading a few of his favourite passages.

He eyed it for a while, before grabbing it and heading out. It was about time she got it back. Having a sudden idea, he went back and dug around his desk until he found a post it note, scribbling over it quickly. Satisfied, Henry stuck it on the cover of the book and headed towards Kate's room.

If the light was on, he would knock, give her back the book and thank her. Then he would leave, no late-night talks, no invitations to the kitchen. If the light was out, well, he'd leave it on the floor, so that she saw it on her way out. Henry turned the corner wearily, but smiled softly to himself when he saw the faint orange glow seeping out from under the crack between door and floor.

He considered if this was a smart idea, it was late, she was tired and he could probably do it another time. But still, something had made him go there so he figured it was more then enough reason, and he _was_ already there anyway…

Henry knocked. Before he could convince himself otherwise.

He could hear the soft creak of her bed as she got up from it and the sound of her padded feet nearing the door. He really hoped he hadn't woken her up. Kate opened the door and it took Henry a moment to remember what he was doing there. Maybe she wasn't sleeping, but she had definitely been lying down, her tussled hair making him stare more then was acceptable.

He didn't care really, because it wasn't awkward, not to him at least. She looked beautiful. It wasn't the same type of day to day beauty, when she had on make-up and her ten thousand bracelets. It also wasn't the same type of beauty when they needed to attend more 'formal' types of events and she let her girly side slip a bit and actually dressed up.

No, this type of beauty was different, her face was bare, her hair was messed up and she had the most adorable look on her face. Not exactly sleepy, but not wide awake either. This was his favourite look on her. What he had loved waking up to, time and time again.

"Yeah?" Her voice broke him out of his thoughts and Henry shook his head, clearing it a bit. Before awkwardly clearing his throat and trying not to look to guilty.

"I er, I came to give you back this." He said, holding out the book towards her.

Okay, so maybe that hadn't gone as smooth as he had thought.

Kate raised an eyebrow and stared at him, taking the book. "Thanks?"

Henry nodded, as he stuffed his hands into his pocket. This wasn't supposed to be this awkward. Then again, he had been caught staring at her. That could have also been one of the reasons.

"Right, well, I'm gonna go." He said, before she had a chance to say anything else. Gesturing with his thumb to his room, Henry turned around and walked down the hall towards his room.

_'You fail at life.' _He told himself over and over again.

Kate, in the mean while, stared at him as he walked away, both her eyebrows raised and a confused look on her face. Shaking her head, she closed the door to her room. He always had been kinda weird anyway.

Henry entered his room quietly, trying to figure out what on earth had been the point of him waking her up at that time of night. Just to return a book. Just to return a _book_? What the hell was wrong with him?

He reached his room and sprawled out on the bed, still shaking his head at his choice. But whatever, there wasn't anything anymore that he could do about it. Besides, if he thought about it, it wasn't as if she didn't know how he felt about her. She did.

Making a fool out of himself was the next logical step, wasn't it?

There was a knock to his door and Henry groaned, hoping it wasn't Will. The shrink had the worst habit of insomnia and would come chat with Henry if there was light inside his room. Henry really should have turned off the light, but he had been tired and feeling sorry for himself.

Grudgingly pulling himself up and towards the door, Henry opened it, expecting to see Will's messy bed hair and way to eager face.

Instead he saw Kate's face.

"Er, hi." Henry said, opening the door and not really knowing what to do. Kate lifted up the post-it note that were stuck to two of her fingers and Henry found himself turning a nice shade of red. "Er…"

"What's this?" She asked, voice slightly annoyed.

"A…post-it note?" He asked, hoping to deflate the question. When all she did was narrow her eyes, he knew he had to face it. "It's a note Kate."

"Yeah, obviously." She lifted the note again, letting his eyes read the words there. "What do you mean by it?"

Henry sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. He knew it had been a bad idea, but at the time he thought it wouldn't hurt and maybe, just maybe…

"I meant what's written there Kate." He murmured.

"You chose to tell me this via a _post-it_ note?" She asks incredously, making him drop his hand to stare at her.

"Look, I'm sorry, I crossed a line. What do you want me to do, take the note back?" He tried to snatch it, but she pulled it away from his grasp.

"Henry…I'm not mad, I just…" She sighed, biting down on her lip. "What were you thinking?"

"The truth." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. "Look, it was idiot, I'm sorry, I know this makes things awkward, I wasn't thinking, just feeling."

Kate nodded, crossing her arms. "Yeah, you do that a lot."

"Yeah, I'm an idiot, happy now? " Henry sighed again, bowing his head. "I'm gonna go to sleep. 'Night Kate."

"Yes." Kate nodded, a smirk on her face as she watched him roll his eyes before turning around. "Night."

Henry closed the door before him, shaking his head as he leaned against it. He knew what he had written was a coward's way of saying something, but still, he hadn't thought anything about it at the time. At least she had sorta taken it as a joke. She hadn't hit him so that was good.

There was another knock and Henry raised an eyebrow, curious. He opened it slowly, eyebrows rising even more to see Kate standing there again. He opened the door more fully, still keeping part of his body behind it. Maybe she _had_ come to hit him.

"Did you mean it?" She lifted the post-it note again, to which Henry narrowed his eyes, still not understanding, but nodded slowly.

"Okay." Kate nodded. Turning around again, and taking a step away as Henry looked at her as if she'd just grown another head. What the hell had that been about?

She stopped and turned around again, biting her bottom lip as she looked at him in thought for a good while. Henry looked back at her, very confused and was about to ask her if she was all right when she opened her mouth as if to say something.

But she soon shut it again and stared at him, before nodding slowly to herself.

All it took was one step in his direction and before Henry knew what was happening, before he could even ask, think, feel correctly, her arms were around his neck. He had just enough sense to register that she looked nervous, before Kate slowly brought her lips to his, kissing him softly.

His arms wrapped around her waist faster then he could process what was happening, they moved on their own accord. Something they had done innumerable times before. His eager response made her sigh in relief and Kate kissed him a bit more eagerly, smiling slightly when he responded in kind.

Kissing her again was everything that Henry had been missing in his life. Nothing else mattered, but the way her lips felt on his. She was warm, and sweet and everything about her was over-powering to him. He hadn't realized just how much he had _really_ missed her taste until she was everything that he could feel.

His ran his tongue softly against her lips, feeling them again, memorizing them again. Her soft sigh of content gave him more encouragement, as did her fingers stroking the hair on his nape. He took that opportunity to gently press his tongue into her mouth, _really_ tasting her this time.

_This_ was what coming home felt like.

Henry pulled her closer to him, his grip around her waist tightening, as one hand slid up her waist, then her shoulder and neck to gently cup her face. He took a step backwards, taking it as a good sign when she followed him inside without protest. With the tip of his toe, he shut the door.

Kate's tongue dueled with his in an almost lazy fashion, but he could feel that small hint of desperation he was certain was also in his kiss. Henry continued kissing her as if his whole life depended on it – maybe it did. When he couldn't hold it anymore, and had to pull back for air, he held her tighter. He didn't want it to end, to be the last.

They both took deep breaths, Kate's eyes were closed, but he kept his firmly open. Taking in the flush to her skin, her slightly swollen lips. The way her chest rose and fell with each gulp of air that she took. It was wonderful. It was everything he needed. She rested her forehead against his and he waited, all the time in the world. Eventually she opened her eyes, grey met blue and there were so many questions in either stare.

She was shaking, he could feel it as he kept his arms around her. Henry brought his other hand to cup her face, as his thumb caressed softly her jaw and cheek. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but he didn't know where to start. Kate leaned into his touch, closing her eyes and he noticed that she calmed down a bit.

"I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one." He whispered softly, giving her a small smile when she opened her eyes.

Kate responded with a weak chuckle, but her smile relaxed him. Truth was, they were both nervous as hell. "I always did like beating you."

Henry chuckled at that. "Yeah, you did."

Kate brought one of her hands to rest on top of his, entwining their fingers. He became more serious, but there was still a hint of a smile on his face. He searched her eyes, looking for any indication of what she wanted him to do. If she wanted him to do anything at all.

She took a step forward, impossibly close and Henry swallowed, whispering. "Are you su-"

"No." She interrupted him, smiling softly, but nervously. "But that's the fun part."

Henry took a deep breath, feeling his body shake as the implication raced through it. He caressed her face again, taking in all the details of it, before slowly bringing his lips to brush first softly, then more possessively against hers. Kate squeezed their hands, gasping a bit when he picked her up, her legs automatically going around his waist.

He pushed her gently against the closed door, his tongue tracing every inch of her mouth, making them both moan. Kate fumbled for the light switch, turning it off and engulfing them in darkness. They always had preferred the dark anyway. Her hands cupped his face, pulling him closer, always closer.

Henry pulled away from her lips to attack her neck. Her neck had always been his favourite part. His tongue ran greedily against her pulse point, before nipping at the skin, but never enough to break skin. He brushed his lips over the marks, kissing them, soothing them. Henry moved his way up to Kate's ear, blowing hotly on it, feeling her shudder at it. He kissed her neck again, burying his face in it and taking a deep breath.

Her scent intoxicated him to his very core, God, he had _missed_ her. Kate's nails dug into his hair when he slipped a hand under the helm of her shirt, caressing her back. Henry moved to the other side of her neck, giving it the same proper attention. When he sucked at her pulse point, Kate moaned, and this only spurred him on. He could spend the whole night just indulging in her neck.

She, on the other hand, had other plans. Kate pulled on his hair softly, grabbing his face and hungrily claiming his lips again. It was her time to explore and she greedily tasted him, her tongue dueling with his. She couldn't help but smile when he let her take the lead. She loved to beat him after all. Kate nipped at his bottom lip, making him groan.

The hand on her back, rose, fingers dragging lightly over her skin. His other hand wasn't as innocent, as he unashamedly dragged it across one of her thighs, ending on her ass. He kinda had to admit he really liked her ass too. Kate couldn't help but chuckle at his action. So predictable, such a guy.

"Find something funny?" He whispered, a grin on his own face as he nudged her nose with his.

"Wouldn't dream of it." She answered back, brushing her lips against his as she rolled her eyes, chuckling.

"That's my girl."

He caught her eyes as Kate pulled back to stare at him._ Make me _yours_ then._ They knew the lines by heart, having done these banter innumerous times before. It was their past coming back to them, word by word. But did that mean they were willing to keep on playing the same game?

The silence grew around them and Henry felt his heart start to beat faster. He shouldn't have said anything. But it had slipped out of his mouth before he realized what he had said.

A beat. "Make me _yours _then." She whispered.

Henry stared at her for only a second, taking in her face as the words he desperately needed to hear left her lips. Not taking his eyes off of hers, he slowly lowered her until her feet were touching the ground. They were going to do this the right way. His hands found hers and he slowly pulled her backwards with him.

They reached the side of the bed and Henry let one of her hands go, long enough to turn the bedside light on. The soft glow of the light bounced of her nervous face, making her impossibly more beautiful in his eyes. His heart was beating like crazy, probably loud enough for her to hear even. But there was a certain calmness to his movements as well. He could tell Kate felt it too.

Henry brought his hands up from her grasp to run up her arms, her shoulders. Taking every part of her body that he could touch. Kate let him, knowing this was as important to him as it was to her. His gentle touch had goosebumps rising over her skin and she sighed, closing her eyes. Kate felt his lips brush over her face, barely touching. Ghost of a kiss. He pulled back and she opened her eyes, always meeting his.

His hands traveled down her body, coming to rest at her waist, his thumbs dipped under her shirt, teasing her skin. He saw the Goosebumps his touched provoked and Henry smiled down at her. He slowly grabbed the bottom of the shirt and pulled it over her head. His hands touching her skin all the way up as his eyes took in every inch of her mocha colored skin that was revealed to him.

Kate helped him pull her shirt off, her eyes only leaving his face when she tossed it over her head. Henry sat down on the bed, his hands on her waist as she took a step closer to him. For a moment he just stared at her, his fingers drifting over her skin softly. Her red lace bra called his attention, but he ignored that for now. He couldn't allow himself to get lost there yet. He lowered his head, brushing his lips against her smooth, toned stomach. Goosebumps ran over her skin again and he grinned against her skin.

"Just don't get smug." Kate managed to breath out, one of her hands holding onto his shoulder as the other threaded itself in his hair.

"I'm never smug." Henry replied, before kissing around her bellybutton, dipping his tongue teasingly into it. She moaned softly and he grinned again. _Maybe he was a little smug._

Kate didn't say anything, choosing instead to take a step closer to him, her own hands caressing down his back. Her hands found his and she pulled him up, until he was standing in front of her. Henry's hands went to her waist, resting there while he waited for her next move.

She slowly scraped her nails down the front of his chest, purposely scraping one finger over one of his piercing. It was her turn to grin. Her fingers popped open the buttons of his shirt easily enough and she slowly pushed it off, kissing each bit of skin revealed. Henry's grip on her waist tightened ever so slightly as his eyes closed, just reveling in her kisses. She tossed his shirt along with hers.

Kate's hands roamed his chest, her fingers drifting against his skin. He was still the way she remembered him, muscles just as strong, skin just as soft. There were more scars this time around, stories she didn't know and she promised herself to one day explore each and everyone of them. Bringing her hands to rest on his shoulders, Kate kissed his neck as his arms came around her. Her skin was hot against his, while Henry's hands roamed her back.

He took a minute to just hold her, before his need got the better of him. It didn't help that Kate had gone from kissing his neck to sucking softly on it, her tongue sending shivers down his body. She bit his skin gently, and Henry growled low in her ear, pulling her hips against his. They both moaned at the contact. One of his hands inched forward towards the button of her jeans, deftly popping them open and pulling down the zipper.

"What happened to being shy?" Kate teased, sucking on the tip of his earlobe.

"2 and a half years Kay." Henry pointed out to her.

It didn't help matters when she scraped a finger over one of his piercing, her deep chuckle doing things to him. His finger looped through the belt loops on her jeans, pulling her closer as Henry bent down to kiss her hungrily. Kate moaned into his kiss, the hand previously teasing him going towards his own jean.

"Now who's not being shy?" He murmured, running his tongue against her lips.

He felt Kate's lips turn up into a devilish smirk. "Oh I was _never_ shy Foss." Her hand left his jean button, cupping him roughly as Henry moaned against her. _Yeah, she wasn't shy at all._

His head fell onto her shoulder and her quiet chuckle made him roll his eyes, but there was a smile on his face. Fine, he could play this game. He _loved_ playing this game. Pulling her hips against his again, Henry latched onto her neck as he easily pulled her jeans down, kissing down her chest and stomach as he removed her pants. Kate stepped out of them and they were thrown somewhere in a corner – probably with the rest of their clothes. He bent down, knees bent as he let his hands roam up and down her smooth toned legs.

"You're amazing." Henry managed to croak out, his breath catching in his throat.

She blushed. She always blushed whenever he sent an unexpected compliment her way. You would think after years she'd have gotten use to it. No such thing. Kate's hands threaded into his hair again, pushing the hair back, making him look up at her. Henry caught her eyes and again, for a moment, they just stayed staring at each other.

She tugged lightly on his hair and Henry stood up again, his hands finding her waist by their own accord. He caught her off guard when he swooped her off her feet, quite literally. Kate gave a surprised yelp, before laughing, one arm going around his neck as she rested her head on his chest.

"Doing this right, eh?" She couldn't help but tease.

Henry didn't answer, winking at her as he chuckled. Their eyes locked as he gently lowered her onto the soft mattress. Kate moved back, more to the center of the bed as Henry crawled over her, lowering his body until they were touching chests. Her hand rose to stroke his face and he closed his eyes, leaning into it. One hand supported himself as the other roamed her skin freely.

Down her chest, towards her stomach, up her thigh. Always careful not to touch exactly where she wanted him to. In a way he was still anxious about their suddenly re-found relationship. If you could call it that.

"You think to much." She murmured, making his eyes meet hers and smiling.

"I have a lot to think about." He murmured back. Kate raised an eyebrow and he shrugged, bending down to nibble on her collarbone. "It's just-"

"I want this Hank. I want _you_." She said. "Not because I'm confused, not because you almost died and I'm working on a post-death adrenaline high, not even because sex with you is the most mind-fucking experience I've ever had." This last comment made him chuckle softly. "It's okay. We're gonna be okay."

"…I'm still sorry." He repeated.

Kate answered him by pulling him down towards her again, kissing him desperately. She couldn't stand the guilt in his eyes. Their relationship wasn't perfect, it wasn't all buried and forgotten, there was still a lot of stuff that they would have to work on. But for now, all she wanted was to feel him around her, inside of her, everywhere.

Deepening the kiss, she scraped her nails softly down his chest. With some added leverage she pushed him backwards, changing their positions so she was the one on top. Straddling his legs, Kate's lips curved up into a devilish smile again as she grounded her hips against his, she heard him moan.

Okay, he could take a hint.

Sitting up, Henry grabbed her hips as he slowly thrust up against hers, seeing in satisfaction the way her head fell back, eyes closed as she bit her bottom lip. A look of pure bliss on her face. Yeah, he definitely missed seeing that. Feeling more in a teasing mood, Henry cupped one of her breasts, a smirk on his face as her breath became more ragged. Kate lowered her head, eyes meeting his in a challenging way. He didn't back down, nor stop his movements. Henry calmly met her gaze as his thumb brushed over a pert nipple, enjoying her reaction a little too much.

"Enjoying yourself?" She breathed out, the hands on his shoulder digging in ever so slightly as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Again, he didn't answer, only winked at her. Henry continued massaging her breast as he leaned forward to brush his lips against her ear, breathing hotly. "Not nearly as much as I could be."

This sent a fresh wave of goosebumps across her skin and Henry smirked. Kate rolled her eyes before threading her fingers into his hair and pulling him back to stare at her. He met her gaze, hand on her breast still teasing.

It was her turn to lean forward and whisper. "Then get to it cowboy." Kate ran her tongue up his neck, before she thrust her hips against his again.

Henry's response was to growl, the hand still resting on her waist holding on to her as her thrust up. This teasing thing was getting old and fast. His hand slipped away from her breast, but before Kate could protest he had unclasped her bra and the red lace garment went flying across the room. Location unknown.

Rolling them over again, so he was the one on top, Henry entwined their hands, pinning them over her head. He thrust against her again, loving hearing her moan as his head bent down to capture a breast into his mouth. Kate's body arched into his touch as his tongue danced around her nipple. Pulling back with an audible 'pop' he did the same thing with her left breast, letting one of her hands go as he massaged the right one. Hand now free, she threaded it into his hair again, holding him against her.

Kate started thrusting up against him and Henry could smell her arousal. It was probably driving him crazy more then the withering goddess underneath him. He did a particularly good thing with his tongue and she moaned again, letting go of his hair as she blindly searched for his jeans. Having already opened them, Kate tried pulling them down.

Henry couldn't help but chuckle at her frustration, but he quickly shut up when she slipped a hand under his boxers, grasping him. He was hot and hard under her palm.

"Off." She ordered, her eyes finding his and showing that she wasn't joking.

Henry nodded, too gone to even try and disobey. "Off." He repeated, pulling his jeans and boxers down and shucking them off.

He was quickly back on her, lips capturing hers as he tried not to thrust into her hand. Kate wasn't making matters easy, her hand slid up and down his shaft, finger swirling over the tip. She was driving him crazy. All was fair in love and war, and in matters of sex all bets were off. Henry palmed her through her panties, also red and lace and for a second he wondered when she started to match her underwear.

Grabbing her wrist, making her stop before this ended way to early for both of them, he pinned her arms over her head again. Holding onto her wrist with one hand, Henry started to lower his head over her body tortuously slow. He stopped at her breasts a bit, giving them the attention they deserved, the more she moaned, the more he teased. His lips and tongue joined his hand on her breasts. He wondered how long he could keep his torture up before she kicked his ass. He looked at her, catching her eyes as a devilish smile came over his face.

Kate narrowed her eyes at him, pulling against his restraint on her uselessly. Hooking one leg across his waist she thrust up, the friction of the red lace against her driving them both crazy. He was so close, the thin material between them barely keeping them apart, but it was still not enough. She needed more.

"Can't you feel how wet I am for you?" Kate purred, knowing the moment her words affected him. Yeah, she had some secret weapons up her sleeves. Getting Henry to do _what_ she wanted _when _she wanted was one of them.

His blue eyes were dark with lust and possessiveness. His hand slipped easily under the lace and Kate moaned in content when his fingers started stroking her.

"Is this what you want?" He growled, swiftly inserting a finger into her as he continued stroking.

Kate was to far gone to respond, her hips rising to meet his thrusting finger. But he kept his movements to a terribly and painfully slow pace.

"Hank." She pleaded, moaning again as he inserted another finger.

Bending down to kiss her neck, Henry bit her softly, sucking on the skin until there was a mark. _His_ mark. She was his.

"Yeah Kay?" He asked innocently, kissing her neck tenderly as her let her hands go so one hand could caress her breasts while the other continued to stroke her folds.

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but he chose that moment to pass him thumb over her clit and she bit down on her bottom lip again, moaning. Her nails digging into his back only serving to spur him on.

"Yeah Kay?" He asked again, adding more pressure to her clit. Henry grinned as she swatted his arm, mouth opening in pleasure as her hips arched off the bed again. _So close._

Henry captured her lips again, his tongue lazily tracing her mouth. His fingers started trusting faster inside of her as his thumb brushed over her clit again and again. Her nails dug into his skin and Henry captured her scream with his kiss as her body arched again. Her walls clenched against his fingers and he didn't stop stroking her until Kate had come down from her high. After a few moments, she blinked her eyes open at him, lazily returning his kiss.

Henry nudged her nose with his, kissing her cheek, going down towards her jaw and collarbone. Kate slowly stroked his hair, breathing deeply. He slowly took out his fingers, caressing her folds a few more times just to see her reaction. Being able to watch her come undone in his arms was what he lived for. His fingers hooked on her panties and he slowly dragged the lace down her thighs. The material against her sensitive skin sending a shiver down Kate's back.

Henry's hand traced up her leg, never getting enough of how her skin felt. He stopped at her ass, giving it a gentle squeeze, before moving her hips slightly, pulling her underneath him more. Kate's eyes met his again as she continued to stroke his face with one hand and his back with the other. Henry moved, rubbing the tip of his erection against her folds, making them both moan. Kate lifted her hips, needing him inside of her.

He positioned just the tip in, holding himself back from slamming into her. Henry's eyes looked back at hers, one hand coming up to stroke her beautiful face.

"Are you _sure?_" He asked again, the guilt back in his eyes. Henry knew there was no way he could even try to stay away from her if he made love to her again.

Kate breathed out, lifting her head to brush her lips against his. Her eyes left no doubts as they stared back at him passionately. "I _love_ you."

Henry's breath hitched in his throat. "I love you too." He murmured back. "Never stopped."

"I know." She replied, smiling softly at him. "Me neither, despite everything."

He answered her by sliding slowly into her, watching as Kate's eyes closed in bliss. His own faltering as he felt all of her around him again. Henry kept pushing into her, letting her adjust to him until he was fully within her. Kate's eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him, lifting her head to kiss him again.

Henry kissed her back as he started to thrust against her, Kate meeting his moves thrust by thrust. His hand wandered back to her ass and he squeezed it, moving their angle just a bit so he could hit her sweet spot. She moaned in approval.

He kept thrusting slowly at first, wanting to make it last. When their pace became to erratic to kiss, Henry just stared down at her, taking in every detail of her face when she was like this. This was the image that had been etched in his mind during the whole time he was away from her.

"Oh God, Henry." Her nails dug into his back, and Henry moved faster against her. His hold on her waist leaving marks on her beautiful skin. He'd kiss it better in the morning.

"Faster." She moaned out, knowing that he wanted to prolong the moment between them, but she was so close.

Henry complied, not being able to maintain his own slow rhythm as much as he wanted to. He pounded into her harder and faster, loving the way his name rolled off her lips with every thrust. Henry pulled out, turning his hips a bit, before plunging into her again as he growled into her ear.

"Come on Kay." He breathed, knowing she was on the edge. He pulled back again, before slamming back into her. "I love you." He repeated, his lips attaching themselves to her neck.

Kate's body arched backwards as she moaned out his name, her orgasm racing through her body with an intensity she hadn't ever felt. Henry didn't stop, prolonging her pleasure as he continued to thrust into her, feeling her clench around him. Her hips still met his and all it took was a few more thrusts for him to come crashing along with her.

"God, Kay!" He growled, finger digging into her waist as his spilled inside of her, her walls sucking him dry with each movement. "Fuck."

When he came back from his high, Henry slowly opened his eyes, breathing deeply, seeing Kate's face staring back him. She was breathing deeply and he thrust against her one more time just because he could. Her eyes closed and she moaned, her hands lazily stroking his back.

Henry lowered himself gently over her, supporting most of his weight to the side. He didn't want to pull out just yet and she didn't seem to mind, arms coming to rest around him, holding him to her. They were both breathing deeply, bodies covered in sweat, totally spent and satisfied.

"Damn, I've missed you." He murmured, kissing her neck softly.

Kate smiled, stroking his hair. "Missed me, or missed the sex?" She couldn't help but tease him.

Henry lifted his head to glare mockingly at her. "Way to ruin the moment there Freelander."

She only laughed, pulling him against her again as he buried his face in her neck once more. "Yeah, yeah, I've missed you too, you idiot."

"And for the record, I missed both you _and_ the sex." He smirked, nipping at her neck. "Take it as a compliment."

Again, she only laughed. Henry brought his head up to kiss her softly, before finally pulling back and lying down beside her. Kate turned on her side to stare at him, her hand coming up to caress his face. He leaned into her touch, knowing he most certainly had a goofy grin on his face. He kept staring at her with an intensity she hadn't felt in a long time.

"What?" She whispered, pushing his hair back.

"You." He replied, catching her hand and turning his head to kiss her wrist.

"What about me?"

"You're beautiful." He answered, smiling softly at the blush that crept up her face. "And I've missed being able to tell you that."

Henry pulled her to him as Kate turned around, so that her back was to his chest. "What else did you miss telling me?" She asked, as his arms went around her waist.

"Well, for starters, that I love you. And I'm pretty sure I will keep on loving you until I'm old and grey and missing a couple of teeth."

Kate chuckled. "Only pretty sure?" She asked, raising her eyebrow teasingly.

"Always." He whispered hotly against her ear, pulling her closer to him. He nudged his nose against her neck, as she stroked his arm. "I missed telling you how much you mean to me. How I love waking up to your sleepy face – even when you have smelly breath." Henry chuckled as she swatted his arm. "Just, I dunno…Everything."

"Well then…" Kate replied, holding her silence for a beat. "It's a good thing you have all the time in the world to tell me how wonderful I am and how big of an idiot you were for leaving me."

She was teasing, but a part of her really meant it. Luckily for him, she was still hopelessly in love with him. Idiot or not.

Henry tightened his hold on her, pulling her stupidly close to him. "Terrible, huge idiot."

Kate nodded, smiling when he kissed her neck again. "Now go to sleep Hank."

"Mhmm." He murmured, tangling their legs together as he hid his face in her neck, breathing deeply. "Love ya Kay."

"…Love ya too Sweet Pea." Kate smirked, knowing he was rolling his eyes at the stupid old nickname.

Before falling asleep herself, Kate looked over at the bedside table where she could just barely make out the outline of _'Gone With the Trash'_. She smiled, pulling Henry closer to her as she thought about the post-it note.

_'Thanks for the book…You're still my favourite girl.'_

Yeah, totally an idiot.

* * *

Coming back to the Sanctuary after 4 months away, Declan was happy to take a break from his Head of House duties. Besides, there was something about the Old City Sanctuary that always made him feel at home. Rounding a corner he spotted Magnus hovering outside the library door.

"We wouldn't by any chance be lurking, would we?" He whispered softly against her ear, smirking a bit when she jumped back a bit.

Glaring at him softly, Declan only smiled innocently back at her, as Magnus shook her head. "Nonsense."

He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, motioning towards the library door. Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Declan took a quick peek in, smiling softly at the scene in front of him.

Henry was sitting on one of the couches, his tablet in his hands as he poked and prodded at it, frowning every once in a while. Draped across his lap where Kate's legs, while her back was to the armrest. In her hand, worn out from being read so many times, was _'Gone With The Trash'._

He saw Kate chuckle at something and Henry lift his head up as she showed him the passage she was reading. Henry grinned, shaking his head at going back to his tablet. One of his hands going over her legs and caressing them softly.

Pulling back, Declan was content to see how genuinely happy he was for the couple in front of him. Magnus studied his face, smiling softly at him as he smiled back.

"Are you alright?" She asked, always the worrier.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's hard to feel bad when you've lost to the better man something that was his to begin with."

Magnus nodded softly, as she crossed her arms, she knew what he meant

"Seems like the have the right idea though." Declan commented, lifting his eyes to catch hers.

He saw the tiniest hint of a flush to her skin and couldn't help but notice how beautiful that made her. "The young usually do."

"Young love is usually hard to forget like that." He held her eye for another second, as she did the same to him. Declan smiled softly at her, before holding out his hand and bowing slightly. "How about some Tea, Helen?"

Magnus smiled at his ways, rolling her eyes, but Declan didn't miss the spark in them. "Tea sounds lovely." She replied, putting her hand in his.

Declan smiled softly back at her, squeezing her hand gently and holding onto it as they made their way down the hallway, towards the kitchen. He could just make out Kate and Henry's laughter coming from the open library doors.

Love ever after, indeed.


End file.
